Oops! What Do You Mean, Oops!
by optimus prime 007
Summary: Totally cracked fic!While working on an alien device, Wheeljack accidentally turns Optimus into a sparkling.Sparkling cuteness captures the sparks of all on the base, including his sparkmate, Elita. ch 40 Quick note...the sequel is up!
1. Chapter 1

This is what happens when the boss takes the day off and I'm bored so bored out of my skull at work! I get crazy ideas! I hope you enjoy this one.

This is pure crack fic! I was inspired by this picture of an adorable baby G1 Optimus Prime in a diaper. I have no idea who drew it. Wish I did because I want one! Anyhow, it was in a video on youtube called baby transformers if you want to see it.

The story is 2007 Movieverse, AU, OC, etc. Takes place some time after Mission City. And oh, Jazz is alive. We'll not go into how he came back. Just accept it and enjoy the story.

* * *

_**Early Morning, Wheeljack's Lab**_

Wheeljack walked into his lab like he did on most days, eager to work on an invention or backwards engineer some piece of alien technology. Only this morning he was surprised to find one recharging Autobot Commander on his work table.

Optimus Prime lay with quiet dignity flat on his back, arms at his side, legs perfectly straight, optics offline…snoring softly. Yup, one peacefully resting Autobot Leader. Of course it'd probably be more peaceful if he was in his own quarters.

Regardless, Wheeljack had to wake him.

"Psst, Optimus…Sir," he whispered near Prime's right audio receptor.

It got a reaction from his leader. Just not one Wheeljack was expecting. He narrowly ducked back from a heavily armored hand swatting him away.

"Optimus!"

He ducked again. That time Optimus' hand was closer to its mark.

Primus, what did it take to wake this mech up?!

A thought suddenly struck the engineer. One that would keep him from getting whacked and one that would most certainly wake up his commander.

"**DECEPTICONS ATTACKING THE BASE**!" he shouted.

Optimus Prime was up on his feet, weapon drawn and optics alert and focused. Defense systems all fired up, target systems ready for targets and sensors sweeping the immediate are.

"Where…how many?" he asked, pointing his laser cannon at the closed and locked door.

"Umm…there aren't any, Sir," Wheeljack meekly said, moving back a step or two. Optimus gave him a puzzled look. "Well, it was the only way I figured you would wake from recharge."

The proud leader's shoulders sagged slightly as he replaced his cannon on his back, allowing it to fold back into his armor.

"I must apologize…"

"Elita kicked you out after a fight?"

"Yeah, something like that. I would have opted for the tables in the recreation room but they're too small and wobbled when I laid on them. I really didn't feel like recharging on the floor in any of the crews' quarters. Ironhide and Chromia interface, Bumblebee talks constantly, the twins…." He shuddered. "I'd probably wake with a new paint job or _**worse**_."

"Magnus?"

"Likes his privacy."

"Jazz and Prowl?"

Optimus raised an optic ridge at Wheeljack with this 'are you crazy I don't want to know what those two do behind a closed door' look on his face.

"Sorry," Jack chuckled. "What about your office?"

"It is not a suitable place to recharge, my chair isn't very comfortable and the desk is cramped. And there's no way I'm going recharge near Ratchet or his Med Bay unless I'm dying."

"Why didn't you ask me?"

"Well…you talk in your sleep."

"Oh, sorry," Wheeljack smiled sheepishly. "My processor is always working that doesn't surprise me."

"But you're work table is the only piece of furniture of adequate size for me," Optimus smiled brightly.

"My lab might not be the safest place, Optimus. It's been known to blow up with or without me in it, burst into flames at a moments notice, or even lose gravity! Remember that time…what Bumblebee was three years old. He snuck into my lab and turned on the antigravity field regulator I created."

"Oh yeah," Optimus laughed. "All we heard was him giggling hysterically in your lab and when we stood in the doorway he was floating upside down with all the equipment and tools having a blast."

Prime suddenly stopped laughing and felt the sadness in his spark. The previous night's argument with Elita coming back in full force was depressing for him.

"Elita and I were arguing about sparklings," he spoke softly, his optics losing some of their normal brightness.

"She wants one and you don't?"

"On the contrary," he replied, straightening up, wide chest puffed out proudly. "I would love to have a sparkling with Elita. Only…Jack, I am bonded to one of the toughest femmes in the universe. She isn't afraid to speak her processor, go one on one with a Decepticon. Hell, she's even blown up a planet. But one word about her being a mother and she bolts for the door or yells at me saying I'm being too demanding on her, that I'm treating her like a weak femme and not an equal."

"Parenthood can be a terrifying thing, Optimus. Most of us weren't ready to be surrogate fathers to Bumblebee or the twins. Most of us don't have that natural nurturing instinct. You do. It's part of what makes you a good leader. You know when to be hard on a soldier and when to back off and let him or her find their own way. Elita's reaction is normal. Well, kind of normal. She does tend to overreact at times."

"Yes she can be a bit irrational every so often," Prime snorted then he smiled fondly. "But I wouldn't have her any other way. I just want something…more. And I know she would be a wonderful mother if she gave it a chance."

"Well, you could always _**accidentally**_ get her pregnant!"

"Primus no! I thought of that! She'd know I did it on purpose. And even if it was an accident, she'd still think I did it on purpose. No, if we're to have a sparkling we _**both**_ must agree to it."

"Have you told her how you feel about it?"

"I hardly ever get that far in making my case," he sighed. "Like last night, I start off with 'Elita, I've been wondering, with the Decepticons being quiet and all, it would be a nice time to start that family we keep putting off.' Next thing I know, I'm standing there, hands in the air while she's got a fully primed weapon aimed at my crotch, yelling at me."

"Ouch! That's harsh!" Wheeljack winced.

"Yeah…harsh. Which means I can't go near her for a least another day or so until she finally cools down."

"Well, you're more than welcome to recharge on my work table. _**If**_, you give me a hand with this heavy piece of equipment."

"Deal!" Optimus smiled, shaking Wheeljack's hand.

* * *

What do you think? More? Hehe. I got more!


	2. Chapter 2

Here's some more. It's still another set up chapter. Next chapter Optimus gets turned into the sparkling.

* * *

_**Meanwhile…the shooting range**_

There was an explosion. The target dummy blew into bits. Then the bits were blasting into dust…repeatedly!

"What the frag has got your main energon line in a knot?" Chromia demanded when her best friend blew the slag out of the target dummy. "We're supposed to having target practice. You keep it up and we won't have any targets left to practice on!"

"Nothing's wrong!" Elita snarled, firing off a few more shots.

Another target dummy blown into tiny bits. It did nothing to dampen her anger. She was still pissed at Optimus.

"Elita, talk to me. I heard you yelling at Optimus last night. What did that lugnut do now?"

Elita growled, putting the safety on and setting her plasma rifle down. She knew Chromia wasn't going to drop the subject. She never did. May as well get it out and off her chest.

"He brought up the sparkling issue again," Elita said.

"Wow, that's the third time since you arrived on Earth six months ago. He must really want one."

"Yeah, that's the problem. _**He**_ wants one. Since when do mechs want sparklings? I thought that was the femmes' job!"

"So why don't you want a sparkling?"

"I'm…I'm not the motherly type, Chromia. I don't coddle, I don't like being coddled. I'd be a terrible mother while Optimus would get father of the year."

"Is that why you're so afraid? That you won't be a good mother?"

Elita's head drooped down and she nodded slowly. She just didn't have that motherly instinct. She had fought so hard and for so long for her place in a mech's world she's not sure if she could ever get it back. If she even had it to begin with.

"My dear friend, we're not born mothers. It's like everything else, you have to learn. But you'll never learn unless you try. You might actually surprise yourself. And quit being so hard on Optimus, he loves you so much. At least he wants to have sparklings with you. Ironhide's more terrified than you about them. If he even thinks I'm going to bring up the subject he bolts."

"Maybe you're right," she sighed. "I do owe Optimus an apology for last night. I kind of overreacted by threatening to blow his interface appliance off."

"There you go! Just be sure to tell me the good news! I want to be the first to know you're sparking."

"Chromia, I'm just going to talk to him. We're not going to be interfacing."

"Pfft, you're no fun. You should kiss and make up. It's more fun that way. Ironhide and I have had some of the best overloads ever when we make up after an argument."

"Primus, I don't need to hear about yours and Ironhide's overloads. You two are loud enough as it is!"

"Yeah, well you and Optimus are no mutes either when you're interfacing or spark merging."

"Chromia…"

"Shut it and go to your mech!" she laughed, turning Elita around and giving her friend a good kick in the aft. "Give him good frag! You'll both feel better, trust me."

Elita left without argument. She knew what Chromia was talking about. There were a few times when Optimus and her kissed and made up. When the time allowed them to. Being Prime didn't always give Optimus the spare time other mechs had. Still, they were always able to make time for each other for special occasions, like their anniversary or even her spark day, the day she came into existence. In fact, only a rare few know that day.

"Prowl, have you seen Optimus?"

"No, he's not scheduled for duty yet. Jazz, told me that he heard you both arguing last night."

"Yeah. I kicked him out of our quarters."

"Ah…that explains it," he smiled, recalling where he saw Prime wandering in the middle of the night. "He might still be down in the lab section of the base. I saw him outside Wheeljack's lab late last night. I suspect he was trying to find a suitable place to recharge."

Elita closed her optic covers' slightly feeling bad that her sparkmate had to resort to sleeping in a lab.

"Thank you, Prowl," she nodded.

Then she headed off to find Optimus. She was determined to find him no matter what at this point.


	3. Chapter 3

Like I said before, this is purely for fun and amusement. Please, enjoy.

a/n: italics in parenthesis are noises or sound effects from a sparkling

* * *

_**Back in Wheeljack's Lab**_

"Frag, Jack this thing is heavy!"

"Sorry, Sir," he grunted as they labored to set the device down in the center of the lab. "Here is good."

"Thank Primus," Optimus gasped standing up. He carefully gazed upon the alien device that had strained his servos lifting it. "What is it anyway?"

"I have no idea," he answered flipping a few switches on it. "We found it back on Luna Vega in the Gamma quadrant around the time we got your message to come to Earth."

"Ah, maybe you shouldn't be turning it on if you don't know what it does."

"I did this last time and nothing happened. Besides, I need it on so I can perform a systems' diagnostic. Else I'll never learn what it does."

"Very well, I'll leave you to it," Optimus smiled.

Optimus didn't think twice when he walked in front of the alien device. In hindsight, Wheeljack was wishing he waited until Optimus was at least out of the lab before activating the thing.

The beam of light immobilized Optimus and even took him offline. Wheeljack was frantic trying to power down the machine. Only it was building up. To what Wheeljack didn't know. He thought of destroying but didn't know what that would do to Optimus.

Then suddenly there was a blinding flash of light completely surrounded Optimus. Wheeljack had to cover his optics it was so bright. And then like that…the light was gone. The machine fritzed out. And Optimus…was gone.

Wheeljack's spark froze.

"Holy Frag! What have I done?" he wept, falling to his knees. "Primus, help me I killed Optimus."

(_hiccup_)

The sound startled Wheeljack.

(_hiccup_)

"Optimus!" he called, wiping his tears.

A soft thud sounded. It was near the front of the device where Optimus had been standing. Slowly moving forward on his hands and knees, a glimmer of hope began to rise up in his spark.

"Please, I'll do anything you want Primus, just make him be ok," he prayed as he poked his head around the corner.

(_beep!_)

"Ahh!"

(_giggles_)

Wheeljack's optic covers opened and closed rapidly. His processor rebelled, was even threatening to overheat, against what he was seeing.

He just couldn't believe it! His face was mere inches from…

"Optimus?"

The sparkling's big blue optics locked on his, warbling and twittering happy as could be. Tiny hands latched onto Wheeljack's face. With a grunt the sparkling pulled itself up onto its feet. Only its little legs wobbled unable to hold its own weight and it fell onto its little aft.

"Oops!"

A short nervous laugh escaped Wheeljack at the sparklings exclamation. He wasn't sure if he should be terrified or relieved! But sparkling sitting there had to be Optimus. It was the only logical explanation. Not to mention it looked exactly like Optimus, only smaller. Much smaller! It had a blue helm with antennas, red arms and chest, silver face, thighs, and hands, and from the knees down to the tips of his feet was mostly blue.

"Would you be able to communicate with me to let me know you're really Optimus?"

The sparkling rolled onto its back giggling hysterically and grabbing at its little feet.

"I didn't think so," he sighed then his features relaxed. "You know, you're actually kind of cute."

(_giggles_)

"_Wheeljack, this is Elita. Can you let me in?_"

The femme commander's voice resonated from the intercom nearly sending Wheeljack into stasis lock!

"Oh slag!" he yelped snatching up Optimus and climbed to his feet. "I can't let her see you like this! She'll dismantle me for sure!"

Wheeljack frantically scanned his lab for a place to hide Optimus.

"_Jack! If Optimus is in there tell him to stop being a fraggin coward and open the door!_"

"Just a moment!" he shouted, yanking one of his storage bin from a shelf.

Its contents were dumped on his table as his spark was racing. Primus, he was terrified. Elita was one tough femme you didn't want to piss off! And she was going to be super fraggin pissed off when she finds out her sparkmate, her bonded, the mech she's loves more than anything in the universe is…a sparkling!

"Here you go," he whispered gently setting Optimus in the bin.

Optimus beeped softly. He was afraid. He didn't like it in here.

"It will only be for a few astroseconds…I hope."

Sorrowful big blue optics stared up at the engineer. He didn't have the spark to do this. But if Elita dismantled him there'd be no one to fix Optimus!

"I'll leave the lid open a crack to give you some light. But please don't move and be quiet."

As promised the lid was placed on leaving a small crack for light to come in. One big terrified mech sprinted across his lab and opened the door. One terrified little mech stared at the small opening. Optimus didn't like the darkness.

"Where is the fragger?" Elita growled storming in. "Prowl said he was here."

"Who?" Wheeljack asked nervously.

Elita shot him a menacing glare. She didn't have time for wisecracks!

"Oh, you mean Optimus. He is here. I mean he was. He left a short time ago."

The femme gave him the once over very slowly then started looking around the lab. She was trying to see if Optimus was hiding anywhere. She was determined to find him. She'd yell at him again for evading her but then she'd apologize to him.

Wheeljack's intakes seized up as she stopped right next to the storage bin. He never prayed so hard in his life!

'Please don't look in the bin! Please don't' look in the bin!' his inner self kept repeating.

He should have been praying for Optimus to be still. The little mech wanted out. He reached up for the light.

"Did he say where he was going?" she asked, sifting through the strewn parts on the table.

"No, I don't believe so."

Elita turned around just as tiny fingers poked through the opening. Wheeljack nearly had a spark attack! That was too close!

"You don't _**believe**_ so?"

"I mean, no," he replied, trying to be as casual as possible as he came over, gently pushed the fingers back inside and closed the lid. "I don't know. He didn't say."

The femme's optics darkened. Elita knew he was hiding something. All the mechs on the base were loyal to Optimus and would protect him. Even from her.

A sudden thud from the bin grabbed her attention. Her mission to find Optimus placed temporarily on hold as her curiosity got hold of her.

"What's in there?"

"Oh…nothing," he smiled nervously.

There was another thud followed by what sounded like a grunt. Optimus strained to push the lid off.

"Just an experiment gone wrong!" he quickly added, slamming his hand on the lid but not too hard. The movement inside stopped. "You know, Optimus did say you were mad at him and that he had to avoid you until you cooled down."

Elita's features softened.

"I was actually coming to apologize to him. If you see him will you tell him I'm looking for him?"

"Of course," he smiled, putting his arm around her shoulders and gently leading her towards the door. "He usually pops around to see what I'm up to. I'll give him the message."

"Thank you. I'd appreciate that. Perhaps he went for a drive."

"Perhaps."

"Oh, you're experiment might break loose," she grinned before finally heading out the door.

The voices sounded far away. Optimus pushed against the side opening that would open up if the top didn't. It moved! He tried again.

Wheeljack's optics about popped our of their port sockets when he saw the storage bin rocking back and forth. He quickly shut and locked the door and raced over. The bin flopped over on its side and the lid fell off spilling out one sparkling Optimus Prime. Thankfully Wheeljack's reflexes were quick enough that he caught the sparkling before he hit the floor.

"Primus that was too close," he gasped, setting Optimus on the table. "I was nearly scrapped metal!"

Optimus scowled at him and gave him a short beep. He didn't like being in that thing. It was so dark!

"I know. I'm very sorry. But I can't let anyone see you like this. I have to…"

A string of excited beeps and warbles sound from Optimus, his anger forgot in an instance when his optics spotted an array of fascinating objects that look like they'd be fun to play with. Wow! What are those?

"No, I'm sorry, you can't play with that," he said, taking the voltage reader away.

Undeterred, Optimus reached for the next item. This time he wasn't going to allow his prize to be taken from him so easily.

"No! Not that either!" he exclaimed trying to take it from the sparkling.

(_growl_)

"Are you…growling at me?!" he questioned laughing.

**(**_**GROWL**_)

Wheeljack smiled at the determined look on Optimus face and was a bit surprised at how strong he was. It is just a wrench.

"Well, its not going to hurt you I suppose."

A squeal of delight emanated from the happy sparkling. He beeped and warbled at his prize as he turned it over in his small hands. Then he giggled and started banging it on the table. Hehe. It was fun!

"As much as I'd love to sit here and watch you play, we need to get you back to your old self. But first, I need Ratchet down here to check you out just to make sure you're ok. Then I have to figure out how this contraption works so I can change you back!"

(_beep?_)

"Thank you, Optimus," he chuckled when the sparkling handing him the wrench. "It might come in handy." Wheeljack sighed. "No sense putting off the inevitable. Ratchet, come in."

Nothing on his comlink. That was odd. Ratchet always responded quickly.

"Ratchet, this is Wheeljack. Respond please."

Still nothing.

"Prowl, this is Wheeljack. Where's Ratchet? He's not responding to my hails?"

"_His communicator's down. Seems him and Ironhide had a disagreement about what time Ironhide's maintenance check up was. Magnus had to break them up and pin Ironhide down so Ratchet could do his job. Everything ok? Are you injured again? Please tell me you didn't blow your lab up again._"

No, everything wasn't ok. Their aft ripping mech wrecking leader, Optimus Prime was downsized. Significantly downsized…into a cute, cuddling, sparkling!

Optimus smiled up at me. Primus he was too cute.

"_I can come and assist you if you're injured._"

"I'm fine, Prowl. The lab is in one piece. And I'll head to the med bay on my own. Wheeljack out."

Optimus giggled and grinned wide as Wheeljack tickled him under his chin.

"You sure are cute. A shame I can't show you to anyone. I'll only be gone a few minutes. I promise."

_long sorrowful whistle_

"It's ok. Here, play with these…they're safe enough. I think. And stay put. I'll be right back."

Optimus watched the big white mech leave. The door shut and he was alone.

(_beep!_)

The mech didn't comeback. Determined not to be alone Optimus crawled to the edge of the table and peered down. It was far. He wasn't afraid of heights so it was easy to dangle off and drop to the floor below.

"Oops," he huffed falling onto his aft.

It didn't hurt. He was tough. But he couldn't walk yet so he crawled as fast as he could to the door. With a grunt and strain he pushed as hard as he could against it.

Nothing happened.

Optimus tried again.

Still nothing happened.

Defeated he sat on his aft and started to cry. He didn't like being alone in a big room with all these big things in it.


	4. Chapter 4

Here are two mechs I know you all love. :) Guess what they find!

* * *

_**A few moments later, out in the hallway**_

Jazz and Bumblebee had returned to the base via the back entrance where the labs were located. The pair had gone out for a bit of racing fun early in the morning. With the Decepticons on an apparent hiatus they had a lot of energy to blow off.

"Those were some radical moves, Bumblebee!"

"Thanks, Jazz. You had some awesome ones yourself."

"We just better not let Prowl know we were racing though, ok? I love him but he can be such a tight aft at times."

"Sure, no problem," Bee laughed.

"And we'd better hit the showers! He sees this dust on us and he'll know we were racing!"

Bumblebee glanced down at his armor. He honestly didn't see what was wrong with a little bit of dust. He was used to being a bit dirty. It comes with the job of being a scout. One often had to recharge whenever they could even if that meant lying in the dirt.

Besides, at least they weren't caked in mud like Ironhide and Chromia usually are when they come back from a frolic. Honestly, Bumblebee believes they're doing more than racing with all the mud on them! It was everywhere, including between the gaps of their armor!

Jazz laughed, sensing what Bumblebee was thinking. Not every mech was as buffed and polished as Jazz. But at least he wasn't as obsessed as Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were about cleanliness.

"Ok, so _**I**_ need to hit the showers," he smiled at his young friend. "Prowl will know I've been up to no good if he sees one speck of dust on me. The mech notices _**everything**_!"

Bumblebee laughed heartily. That was true!

Jazz's finely attuned audio receptors suddenly picked up a sound. A vaguely familiar sound too!

"Shh," he said, raising a hand to quiet his friend. "Do you hear that?"

Bumblebee cocked his head and listened. He heard…_**something**_. Only he had no idea what it was. But Jazz must have as he quickly moved to the nearest door.

"Not from this room," he mentioned. "Bee, check each door on that side of the hall. I'll check this side. We _**have **_to find it."

"Find what?" he asked moving to a door to his left.

"You'll see!" Jazz grinned.

Primus, Jazz couldn't believe it! He hadn't heard that sound since Bumblebee, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe were sparklings! He'd been hoping for this day. He loved sparklings, even if they weren't his.

"Here!" he exclaimed excited.

He leaned against the door. There was definitely a distressed sparkling on the other side of it.

"That's Wheeljack's lab," Bumblebee mentioned.

"Makes perfect sense too! Well, kind of. I would have thought the Med Bay would be more appropriate but I guess a lab is a good as place as any to build one."

"Build one? What on Cybertron are you talking about?" Bee questioned, totally confused by his friend's behavior.

Jazz punched in the code to open the door. His spark instantly melted upon seeing what he was hoping for.

"Ah, he's so cute!" he exclaimed, picking up the squalling sparkling.

"Is that…"

"A sparkling! Shh, it's ok little fella," he cooed entering the lab and looking around. "Well no wondering you're so upset. You're all alone."

(_beep_)

"Ah, don't worry, uncle Jazz will take care of you."

"Uncle Jazz? We don't even know who's sparkling that is?"

"It's obvious," he replied holding the sparkling in one arm. "See the colors…oh and these cute little antennas! This is Optimus and Elita's sparkling! Oh, I've been waiting for the day they'd finally pop one out. Come on Bee, you have to admit, he's cute and adorable."

"Yeah, he is," Bumblebee smiled, tickling the sparkling's belly.

The sparkling giggle, his optic covers blinking rapidly.

"Hang on. How do you know it's a mech? I mean…do you just pull his interface cover off and check? We don't have medical sensors like Ratchet."

"Well, body temperature suggests he could be male," Jazz mused. "It is hard when they're so young to tell the difference. I just assumed because of the colors it was a mech."

"We don't want to get it wrong when we see Elita or Optimus, they might get upset."

"You're right. Here, you hold him…or her. I'll check."

Bumblebee reached then stopped his arms. He had no idea how to hold a sparkling! Fortunately Jazz was helpful.

"See how my arm is? There you go."

Bumblebee felt nervous. He'd never held a sparkling before. And this sparkling would just have to be one of the most important sparklings in the universe that he was holding. Wow! Optimus and Elita have a sparkling!

"I think I got it," Jazz muttered, his large fingers delicately trying to work the interface cover off. "Primus, it's much easier when a mech or femme is full grown."

The sparkling squeaked after a small clicking sounded. He didn't like being exposed like this. With a long, soft trill he began to tremble.

"Shh, it's ok," Bee cooed patting the sparkling's chest. "Hurry up Jazz, he or she doesn't like this."

"Well, I was right. It's a mech," he said replacing the small cover. "And _**definitely**_ Optimus' mech."

The sparkling scowled at Jazz and spewed of a few short beeps and chirps at him.

"Easy, little fella," he chuckled, rubbing the top of the sparkling's head. "Ok, give him back to me."

"But I want to hold him a bit long. I've never held a sparkling before."

Jazz carefully observed how the sparkling was at ease in Bumblebee's arms. He was even pulling at the mech's chest armor. And as much as he loved holding sparklings, Bee being one of his favorites he used to hold, he relented. Besides, he'd get plenty of time to hold the sparkling later.

"Ok, you can hold him for…"

(_gurgle_)

The sparklings optics widened at the sound. There was another gurgle coming from his abdomen region. He poked at it with his fingers.

(_gurgle_)

"I recognized that sound," Jazz smiled. "Someone's holding tanks are empty. Come on Bee, bring the little tyke."

"Shouldn't we stay here in case Elita or Optimus come back for him?"

"Feeding a sparkling takes priority. You don't want him to get upset. Trust me. There's nothing worse than a hungry squalling sparkling."


	5. Chapter 5

This scene is dedicated to one raving Ultra Magnus fangirl. I hope you like it phoenix13.

Thanks everyone for the reviews! This story is so much fun! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

* * *

_**The Recreation room**_

Ultra Magnus was finally able to relax for the first time this morning. He had more than enough excitement getting Ironhide to cooperate for Ratchet in the Med Bay. It was just a maintenance check up! Primus, one would think old Hide was in there getting his tail pipes flushed! No bot liked getting their tail pipes flushed, not even Magnus.

He quickly pushed those thoughts aside. The recreation room was peaceful and quiet, just like he liked in the morning. It enabled him to enjoy his cup of warm energon while going over some reports. Something he did religiously even going back to his days on Cybertron.

Only his peace and quiet was shattered. A somewhat familiar sound reverberated from the hallway into the recreation room. And it was getting louder and louder, obviously getting closer to his location. Magnus looked up to see Jazz and Bumblebee rushing into the room with a…

'That can't be what I think it is,' he thought to himself, watching as the two mechs headed straight for the energon supplies cabinets.

"Jazz, he's getting louder, maybe you should hold him and I'll prep the drink."

Of course, Jazz didn't hesitate!

"There, there," he cooed, cradling the squalling sparkling close to his chest.

Optimus continued to wail. He was hungry! He wanted something now!

"See, Bee is getting it all ready for you," Jazz crooned.

He was so focused on comforting the sparkling and Bee so focused on prepping a cup of special energon that neither mech noticed the huge mech approaching them.

"Jazz, what is that you're holding?" Magnus asked, loudly over the cries.

"What do you think it is?" Jazz countered with that smirk of his, his arms rocking the sparkling.

"I asked you first!"

"Do you not know what it is, Magnus?"

"Honestly, Magnus, I thought you've seen one before," Bumblebee smiled as he diluted the energon as Jazz had instructed they had to do when they came running over to the recreation room.

"Don't forget the supplement, Bee."

"I'm on it, Jazz. Maybe you want to go over the finer points of reproduction with Magnus."

"I know everything about it!" Magnus growled.

The sparkling wailed louder.

Magnus heaved a heavy sigh. His optics locked onto the sparkling. Primus, it's been so long since he'd seen one he just wanted confirmation his processor wasn't playing tricks on him.

"So who's sparkling is it?"

"Elita finally caved!" Bumblebee said excited handing the cup to Jazz.

"Here you go," Jazz cooed, holding the cup to the sparkling's mouth.

Optimus stopped crying instantly and started gulping down the drink. Wow! It was good!

"Don't let him drink it so fast," Magnus warned. "He'll get too much air in his tank. And sit him up more. Are you trying to feed him or drown him? And what do you mean, Elita finally caved? If that was Optimus and Elita's sparkling they would have presented him or her…"

"HIM!" Jazz and Bee shouted.

"…_**him**_ to the rest of us properly. They would have made some kind of announcement to us."

"Well, maybe they couldn't," Jazz countered, pulling the cup away from the sparkling and sitting him up a little more in his arm. "They did have a fight last night, in case you didn't hear."

"Yeah, we found the sparkling in Wheeljack's lab," Bumblebee said, keeping his optics on the sparkling.

Bee almost laughed. Jazz hadn't returned the cup back to the sparkling's mouth as he and Magnus were having a somewhat heated discussion now. So the sparkling was leaning towards it with his mouth open trying to latch onto it. He almost had it when Jazz moved his arm again.

(_**squawk!**_)

Optimus was mad! He wanted the liquid in his tank now! Obviously the silver mech wasn't going to give it to him so Optimus reached for it himself. His little hand grabbed the rim of the cup and yanked on it.

Surprised optic covers blinked rapidly as the drink splashed in his face. His bottom lip instantly stuck out. And he wailed as loud as he possibly could.

"Now look what you did!" Jazz growled, glaring at Magnus.

Magnus just rolled his optics. As usual, someone needed to take command of the situation.

"Bumblebee, make him another cup," Magnus ordered. "Jazz, give me the sparkling. You don't know how to feed him properly."

"I do so!"

"Jazz, I never once saw you feel Bumblebee, Sunny, or Sides," Magnus countered, plucking the sparkling from Jazz's arms. "That always seemed to fall of Optimus, Ratchet, Ironhide or myself. We were the ones who always ended up get spewed on. You would only hold them when they were playing or being quiet!"

Jazz huffed, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Just go get a cleaning towel before the stuff starts to dry and stick to him," Magnus sighed, cradling the sparkling in the crook of his arm.

Bumblebee giggled quietly to himself as Jazz stomped off. He could easily imagine what Magnus said was true. Jazz liked to keep himself immaculately clean for his sparkmate, Prowl. Prowl wouldn't touch Jazz if he had a spot of dirt on him.

"Here you go," Bee smiled handing Magnus the cup.

The audio piercing wails ceased immediately as the cup was place to the sparkling's lips.

"Slow down little one," Magnus cooed, pulling the cup away. He slowly returned it back, tilting it at a slight angle. "Hmm, we really need a bottle. He's going to get too much air in his holding tank."

"Why? What's so bad about that?"

(_burp_)

"Oh, I see," Bumblebee exclaimed, optics wide in surprised.

"At least he didn't spit up any of his drink. Are you done ejecting the air from your holding tank, little one?"

(_**BURP!**_)

"Wow! That was a good one!"

"Sounds like it was the last of the air too," Magnus smiled.

Then his smile suddenly faded and he scowled.

Magnus would have preferred the belching as opposed to the undeniably warm lubricant he felt tickling down his armor. Oh the indignities he had to suffer when Bumblebee, Sunny and Sides were sparklings were coming back from where he hid them within his processor.

The lubricant, the spew, the smell...the smells were probably the worst of them all.

Bumblebee looked scared as Magnus shoved the cup into his hand. It was eerie how calm the City Commander was as he moved the sparkling away from his body. Primus, how did something so small lubricate so much?

Optimus giggled. He was feeling much better now!


	6. Chapter 6

OMG! Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm glad you're all enjoying the story. I hope you like this chapter as well. And oh, blackhorse1, I am working on my Kaceystar fic. I'm editing chapter 31 so it should be up any day now. :)

Again I stress that this is totally AU, OC, etc, and simply for laughs!

* * *

_**The Med Bay around the time Jazz and Bee walked into the Recreation room with Optimus**_

Wheeljack didn't want to be rude by interrupting Ratchet when he was working. He just wasn't the kind of mech to be rude and interrupt others. Besides, he couldn't get two words in with all the whining Ironhide was doing during his maintenance check up.

"What's that for? Do you have to poke me so hard? Ow! You fragger! Are you done yet? OW!"

However, the engineer was feeling uncomfortable leaving Optimus alone in his lab. Anything and everything could and has happened in that lab.

In fact, he was about to tell Ratchet he'd wait for him back at the lab when the CMO asked for Wheeljack's help. Never being one to turn down a friend, he went to help. Oh well, at least this meant that Ratchet would be done that much sooner. And the sooner Wheeljack fixed Optimus the better.

"What do you need his help for?" Ironhide snarled. "Just get this over and done with."

"If you'd sit still I could finish!" Ratchet barked back, smacking Ironhide on the head with his fist.

"OW!"

"Quit whining!"

"What do you need me to do, Ratchet?" Wheeljack asked quickly.

The two old friends often quarreled and could go on for hours! Optimus didn't have hours! Come to think of it, neither did Wheeljack if anyone found out Optimus was turned into a sparkling!

"I need you to run a diagnostic on his weapons systems to make sure he won't blow himself up because of an overlooked malfunction."

"Got it," Jack replied, grabbing the diagnostic machine over and preparing to attach the cable to Ironhide's left arm.

"Malfunction! I'll show you a malfunction," Ironhide growled, swinging his fist at Ratchet's head.

No one was going to tell Ironhide he had any kind of malfunction in his weapons systems. No one! He may get run down in a few of his other systems but he always made sure his weapons systems were functioning better than properly. One never knows when they'll have the chance to blow Decepticons to bits. Best to be prepared.

Ratchet, though he was up there in years, wasn't to be trifled with. He easily ducked Ironhide's wild plated fist. Primus, the mech was being a pain in his aft! He started wondering if Optimus and Elita weren't the only ones arguing this week. Ironhide was always cranky if he didn't get an interface fix with his sparkmate, Chromia.

There was a loud clank followed by a huge crash after Ironhide's fist connected with an unsuspecting target.

"Frag it to pit!" Ratchet groaned, rubbing his forehead.

"Oh, slag! Sorry, Jack!" Ironhide winced.

Both mech's looked down at the floor to see Wheeljack completely offline with a dent in his forehead.

"Must you always resort to violence?"

"Works for me most of the time," Hide shrugged.

"Come on, help me get him onto a bed," Ratchet sighed.

"What the frag was that crash?" Prowl asked, charging in.

"Just dumb aft here, giving Jack a bonk on the head!"

"I was aiming for your head you fra….AAHH!"

Prowl rolled his optics when Ratchet zapped Ironhide.

"You both are worse than the twins sometimes," he grumbled. "How long's he going to be out?"

"Not for too long," Ratchet answered, running a few cerebral scans on Wheeljack as they lifted the engineer up onto the nearest bed. "Luckily there's no major damage. The dent is the worst of it."

"Very well," Prowl said. "Have either of you seen Optimus? I was going to ask Jack if he knew where he was."

"We haven't seen him," Ratchet answered.

"He's probably hiding from Elita," Ironhide snickered. "They did have a whopper of an argument last night. Well, I mostly heard Elita yelling at him."

"Is there a problem, Prowl?" Ratchet asked, concerned.

Prowl mulled over an answer. He wasn't going to tell them Optimus was late for his shift. Prowl knew about the fight last night. He also knew Optimus would lay low for a while. He just never did so without telling Prowl about it. Of course, Elita could have found him and they could be…doing Primus knows what and Prowl could just be over reacting.

"No, everything's fine," Prowl finally answered then left.

"Can I go now?" Ironhide whined.

Ratchet sighed. He was tired of arguing with his friend. It was still early in the day!

"Fine, but we will finish your maintenance check up later today!" he warned.

And like that Ironhide was out the door! But at least it was peaceful in the Med Bay now. Ratchet had time to fix the dent in Wheeljack's head and work on a few reports Prowl had been asking for. It was nearly an hour later when Wheeljack finally came around.

"Oww!" Wheeljack moaned grabbing his head.

"Easy, you took a good bonk on the head there."

Oh Frag! Optimus!

"How long was I out?" Wheeljack asked jumping off the bed, his sparking racing.

"About an hour…"

"You have to come with me to my lab…right _**now**_!"

Normally, Ratchet would have insisted that a patient remain in the med bay for a short while after a blow to the head like that. But the engineer looked desperate like the world was going to explode any second. Optics bulging, spark rate elevated.

Ratchet was left with no choice but to follow his frantic friend and actually had to sprint after him down the hallway. He didn't want Jack to hurt himself any further.

Wheeljack's spark rate about tripled when he entered his lab and didn't see Optimus where he had left him.

"Oh no," he groaned.

"Wheeljack, what's wrong?"

Bins were suddenly yanked of shelves, their contents dumped. Every nook and cranny of his lab was quickly inspected. Optimus was gone! Holy Frag! Optimus was gone!

"Wheeljack, are you ok? You look like your best friend just died," Ratchet joked.

"_**RATCHET MEDICAL EMERCENCY IN THE RECREATION ROOM!**__"_

That was Ultra Magnus' voice booming from the PA system.

"Jack, I gotta go! I'll be back to check on you. Just…try not to move around too much. I think you're still suffering from the knock on you head."

Wheeljack sat in the mess on the floor rubbing his aching head. He needed to think!

Ow. It hurt to think right now.

Ok. Ow!

Ok, he knew Optimus was too small to reach the door controls to unlock and open the door. So it was obvious he couldn't have let himself out of the lab. Which means the only logical solution was that someone had to have opened the door and let him out.

Frag it all the way to vector sigma!

**SOMEONE OPENED THE DOOR?!**

"Frag it to pit! I'm _**so**_ dead!"


	7. Chapter 7

I hope it's clear how the scenes appear to be taking place at the same time. If not, I hope I just cleared it up for you then. Finally, the next chapter begins with two lovable brothers.

* * *

_**Sunny and Sides personal quarters**_

Sunstreaker, one ultra cool, judo kicking mech, was just finishing up the morning ritual he shared with Sideswipe, his twin brother and equally cool, daredevil mech. After a long look in the mirror he turned to his brother for an opinion.

"How's my shine, bro?" Sunny asked.

"Nice, I can see myself. How's mine?"

"I see one handsome mech."

"Thanks!"

"I was talking about me," Sunny smirked.

"You aft!" Sides scowled playfully shoving his brother.

"Hey, watch it! You'll ruin my wax job!"

Side glared at his brother.

"Alright, alright, Sides. Cool you jets. Turn around so I can inspect you." Sides turned slowly. "Ah, you missed a spot. Hand me that towel and I'll get it."

"Tell me again why we have to be so shiny and clean all the time?" Sides asked, handing over the towel. "There aren't any available femmes on the base. In fact, only two femmes have arrived on Earth since Optimus sent his message over a year ago."

"We have to be ready," Sunny answered, rubbing out the smudge. "You never know when a beautiful femme might drop from the sky. You saw how shocked Optimus and the others were when we landed. They never thought in a million years we'd make it to Earth all on our own. Yet we did. That means there's a possibility that femmes will come too. And we'll be the shiniest, most handsome mechs there to greet them."

"Oh yeah!"

"There you go, just perfect. Come on. Time for some high grade!"

"Sunny, it's too early for that. And Prowl will reprimand us if he catches us."

"First of all, Ironhide drinks it regularly in the morning. Second, I've even seen Optimus have the occasional drink early in the morning. Mind you that's when he knows Elita isn't going to drop by and get mad at him. And third, there's nothing Prowl can do about it if he's busy working in the command center."

"What about Magnus? He won't hesitate to throw us in the brig if we get to rowdy."

"So we won't get to rowdy. What do you say?"

Sides opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by their door buzzer.

"Come in!" Sunny shouted.

A somewhat grumpy looking Jazz opened the door and stepped in.

"Did you guys have to use **_all_ **the cleaning towels?!"

"No," Sides replied, using his foot to push some of the towels out of sight.

Jazz rolled his optics. It wasn't like he didn't see what Sides was doing!

"Is there one you didn't use? I really need it," he insisted.

"Sure," Sunny smiled, grabbing a neatly folded towel off his recharge bed. "Is one going to be enough?"

Again Jazz rolled his optics, snatching the towel. These younglings and their over eager interface systems need to get the processors out of the pit!

"No, it's not for me. It's for Optimus and Elita's sparkling!"

Sunny and Sides just about glitched on the spot!

"That's right you two younglings," Jazz smirked. "And you know what that means, right? Time to pay up to your uncle Jazz."

Sides looked in disbelief from his brother then to Jazz. They thought for certain that Chromia would be the one to spark a sparkling first with all the interfacing she and Ironhide do. However, something didn't just sit right in Sides' processor.

"Wait an astrosecond, Jazz. Why didn't Optimus make some kind of announcement? He's the kind of mech to tell everyone wonderful news."

"Yeah, how do we know you're not pulling some kind of prank?" Sunny asked.

"Oh, it's no prank," Jazz chuckled. "But come with me and see with your own optics if you don't believe me."

The two brothers decided to follow Jazz. They just couldn't believe Elita and Optimus have a sparkling. Not that it was impossible. It's just that Optimus and Elita don't usually surprise everyone this way. But then Jazz was never one to really gloat about things unless he was right.

"So, is it a mech or femme?" Sunny asked.

"A little mech."

"Are you sure? Did you check? I mean…what if it's really a femme?" Sunny sputtered, not that he'd have any kind of chance with any daughter of Optimus.

"There was no mistaking what his interface cover was hiding. He's most definitely a mech," Jazz snickered. "And no denying he's Optimus' little mech!"

"Slag! Lucky sparkling. He'll probably be a femme magnet like his pops too," Sunny frowned.

Jazz laughed, wrapping his arm around the youngling's shoulders, "Don't worry, Sunny, you're still one handsome mech."

"And what am I? Scrap!" Sides joked then noticed how Jazz's smile faded fast. "Jazz, what's up?"

"Here, get this to Magnus in the recreation room on the double," Jazz answered handing the towel to Sides then took off running.

There was an undeniable feeling within his spark. Eons together enabled Jazz to know when Prowl was trying to keep his worries to himself. No matter how hard the mech tried not to share them via their bond, Jazz could always pick up on such feelings. And, at this very moment, whatever Prowl was worried about was _**huge**_.

* * *

a/n: I'm building up to the moment where Elita finds out about Optimus. Have patience please. And yes, she will be the last one to find out. And yes, Wheeljack is so going to be in trouble.


	8. Chapter 8

Oh no…Bumblebee…the twins…and a sparkling…together and unsupervised! BEWARE! Keep you children, nieces and nephews, grandchildren (hey, you never know who's reading), and pets away for safety!

* * *

_**The Recreation Room**_

It took all of a minute for Bumblebee to get over his fear. Even when Magnus glared at him he couldn't stop laughing. It was a sight to see the huge City Commander holding the little, bubbly, giggling sparkling as far away from his lubricated armor as possible.

"Bumblebee, don't make me order you to _**stop**_ laughing," Magnus growled menacingly.

"I'm trying," he cackled.

(_giggles!_)

"At least he must feel better now," Bee smiled, then burst into laughter again.

Magnus was not amused. Bumblebee was laughing. The sparkling was laughing and kicking his feet excitedly as he dangled in the air. Magnus was not laughing.

"Sit!" he suddenly barked loudly at Bumblebee.

The young scout dropped fast into the closest chair. Optics wide. Form rigid with fear. More importantly, not laughing.

Even the sparkling stopped giggled. Magnus felt the little body trembling in his hands. He sighed. It was not his intention to frighten the tiny mech.

'This is just not my day,' he wearily thought to himself. To Bumblebee, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so harsh."

Optimus chewed nervously on a finger, pulling his legs up into himself. The big red, white, and blue mech was angry. Time for the only defense he knew to use.

"I'm sorry, little one," Magnus cooed, seeing huge tears filling the sparkling optics, finger in his mouth with his bottom lip sticking out.

(_**wail!)**_

"Yeah, I deserved that one," he winced, rocking the sparkling close to his chest. It took a couple of minutes but the sparkling quieted down. Sorrowful little blue orbs looked up at him. "I think I'm mad at Optimus for not telling me about you. I'm only his best friend. Logic dictates he would have told me the happy news instead of being surprised the way we were."

(_warble?_)

"That's right. Your father and I grew up together. And I'm going to rip him a new aft when I see him."

The sparkling smiled, still chewing on his finger. The big mech wasn't mad anymore!

"It doesn't make sense that they left him in Wheeljack's lab either," Bumblebee mentioned. "That's not like Optimus or Elita at all."

"I know. I'm wondering if it has something to do with the fight they had," Magnus mused, glancing down at his…dirtied armor. "Still, I need to get cleaned up. Jazz should be back any minute with that towel."

Optimus was sat down on the table near the yellow and black mech. The mech tickled his belly making him giggle. Hehe. He liked this mech more than the others. He was funny.

"I'll be back in shortly," Magnus smiled, gently patting the sparkling on the head. "Bee, this sparkling better still be in one piece when I get back!"

"Of course, Sir," Bumblebee beamed gleefully.

Magnus simply shook his head, smiling then left Bumblebee all alone with the sparkling.

Wow! He was in charge of the sparkling! Bee had always hoped that one day he'd be able to sparkling sit. He remembered how Optimus and the others always took time to play games with him or comfort him when he was a youngling. He even remembered how Optimus hardly ever got mad at him no matter what he did.

"You've got a great, father, you know that little one?"

The sparkling twittered reaching for the cup Bumblebee was still holding.

"Oh, sure, here you go."

Bumblebee tilted the cup slowly, being extra careful and making sure the sparkling didn't get too much air in his holding tank as he gulped down his drink.

(_burp_)

"Wow! He looks just like Optimus!" Sides exclaimed as he and his brother arrived.

"Sounds more like us with that belch though," Sunny snickered.

"Good, you brought the towel," Bee noticed.

"Jazz said it was to clean the sparkling," Sides said, taking a seat and handing the towel to his best bud.

"Ah, Bee…where's Magnus?" Sunny asked, looking around the 'conveniently void of any officers' recreation room.

"He went to go get cleaned up," Bee answered, trying to hold back a laugh. He cleared his vocal processor. "Said he'd be back shortly."

Bee almost blurted out that the sparkling lubricated on Magnus then thought better of it. If the twins got a hold of that information they'd be hell to pay…in this life and the next!

"Sweet!" Sunny cheered, heading straight for the high grade supplies.

"So, he's really Optimus and Elita's sparkling," Sides exhaled, watching Bumblebee gently clean the sparkling's armor.

Wow! What's this? Optimus warbled excitedly grabbing the fluffy white thing the yellow and black mech was wiping him with. Optimus giggled, burying his face in it. It was so soft!

Bumblebee and Sides laughed at the sound of a muffled raspberry.

"Drink up mechs," Sunny grinned, setting down three cups of high grade down.

(_raspberry_)

"And look, entertainment too!"

"Sunny, be nice," Sides chided. "There's a difference between being cute and being entertaining."

"And I'm both."

"You're incorrigible, Sunny," Bee said, shaking his head.

Bee disagreed. The sparkling more cute than entertaining. On impulse, Bee covered the sparkling's head with the towel, waited a couple of astroseconds then pulled the towel off.

"Peek-a-boo!"

Surprised blue optics blinked rapidly looking up at him. Bee was rewarded with one of the biggest smiles he'd ever seen in his entire life. He quickly set the towel over the sparkling's head again then yanked it off.

"Peek-a-boo!"

Pure sparkling overload erupted! Squeaks, giggles, smiles, beeps, whistles, mayhem.

That was fun! Optimus liked that. So he pulled the white fluffy thing up over his own head and then pulled it off. The yellow mech and black mech said the three words again. Optimus giggled wildly. Hehe.

"You two should headline at Vegas," Sunny sarcastically commented after about the tenth time Bumblebee said peek-a-boo and the sparkling giggled.

The sparkling was cute. Even Sunny would admit that. And the little fragger looked a lot like Optimus, even the little flames on his armor matched. But Sunny could only take so much. He needed some action! And if there was no action he needed the alternative. Thankfully, he was near a supply of high grade.

"Stuff if up your tail pipe," Bee countered, grabbing his cup of high grade. "He's having fun. That's what's important."

Optimus' tank gurgled when he saw the yellow and black mech drinking. Oh! He had a cup too! Only his was empty when he looked in it. So he logically reached for one that was full.

"Sorry little mech, this one's mine," Sides smiled, patting the sparkling on the head and taking his cup out of reach. "I love your little antennas though. They're so cute."

"Yeah, you'll have to grow a bit to reach the supplies if you want any," Sunny added.

Optimus turned and watched the all yellow mech filling up the cup he was holding. The large container the liquid came from was placed on the top shelf where there were more. Optimus noticed there were little containers too for him!

"Oh hey, Bee remember that time we snuck into some high grade," Sides blurted out excitedly.

"We about drove Ratchet nuts during the couple of days we had to stay in the med bay," Bumblebee laughed. "Optimus took pity on him and tried to keep us away from him for a month."

"Only we kept going back to bug him anyway!" Sunny snorted as he sat back in his seat.

The mechs were talking and laughing loudly. Optimus looked from his cup to where the all yellow mech refilled his cup. It didn't look like they were going to get him some. And it didn't look that hard to get to the liquid that could fill his tank.

Not hard at all!

(_whistle!_)

"Holy Frag!" Sides sputtered spraying high grade onto the table. "How'd he get over there so fast?!"

Bumblebee turned his head, shocked to see the sparkling had climbed up to the top shelf and was perched right on the edge. A high pitch squeal of delighted sound as little hands grabbed hold of a small high grade canister.

"Frag it to pit!" Bee shouted, getting up so fast his chair fell over.

Optimus shook the container trying to figure out how to get the liquid out and into his tank. Suddenly a hand grabbed hold of him. On instinct, Optimus bit it and growled. No one was going to take his drink away!

"**OWW!"**

It worked! He was free. And falling. But he was tough and took the fall well. With his prized held securely in one arm he crawled away…_**fast**_.

* * *

Up next: Magnus comes back and finds chaos in the recreation room!


	9. Chapter 9

Fraggin FFN glitches. I thought that last chapter must have really sucked because I wasn't getting any review alerts! And I'm still not, 24 hours after posting it. (cries) I'm not even getting story alerts. Hopefully, FFN will fix the glitch too. No, it's not my settings, first thing I checked, all enabled right now and no it's not my email, I tested it.

But wow! I'm glad it didn't suck I really liked writing it. Thanks so much for the reviews and cookies! Hope you'll like this one even better. Hehe. For those impatient readers, Elita is showing up soon. Next chapter, I hope. Give me a break, I'm making this up as I go!

And now, without further delay…let the chaos begin!

* * *

_**Recreation Room: Take Two**_

Magnus groaned to himself when he heard the all too familiar laughs of three young mechs, together, coming from the same room! He should have known better! Leaving the sparkling with just Bumblebee would have been ok. Magnus trusted the scout as he had grown into a reliable and somewhat mature mech. The twins…no matter what age they were never changed. They were trouble, plain and simple. But put them with Bumblebee and its trouble times three to the _**max**_!

"Holy Frag! How'd he get over there so fast!"

From the undeniable sound of an over excited sparkling, Magnus knew exactly who Sides was talking about.

"Frat it to pit!"

Magnus sprinted to the rest of the ways to doorway of the recreation room.

"**OWW!**"

Now, if Bumblebee had been experienced with biting sparklings, like Magnus and Ironhide, he would have known not to shake his hand and just ignore the sharp pain in a finger or hand. Only Bee wasn't experienced. And thus, the sparkling was sent to the floor with a single shake.

The sparkling was on the loose!

It was one thing when a sparkling was on the loose and playing. One could control them. However, it was something completely different when that sparkling was feeling threatened…by let's say, someone trying to take a prized possession away. Anything and everything could happen. Magnus knows, he's seen it before!

"Ironhide, stop fraggin your femme and get to the recreation room ASAP! We have a situation!" Magnus quickly called into his communicator when a blue, red, and silver streak disappeared under a table. "Bring Chromia too!"

"_For your information, I wasn't interfacing with my femme! We were only talking about it!_"

"I don't give a frag! Just get over here _**NOW**_!" he shouted back as the three young mechs quickly surrounded the table the little mech was hiding under.

"He's trying to open it!" Bee exclaimed, when he bent down and saw the sparkling grunting, trying to pull the cap off.

Frag! His spark was racing! He never knew sparklings can move so fast! Or were so ferocious! His hand was still throbbing!

"Don't let him drink any!" Magnus ordered, staying by the door just in case the sparkling headed his way.

Optimus looked up! Yikes! The three mechs were closing in! His optics saw an opening and he went for it!

Sunny was caught by surprise when the sparkling shot between his legs, heading for cover under the nearest table. Recovering quickly, he dove after the tiny mech. Only problem was his twin brother went for the sparkling too.

Most of the time it was a good thing when they had the same thing on their processors. Then there times when…

Bumblebee cringed, slightly closing his optic covers when Sides' was undercut by his own brother. The impact was loud enough the entire base had to have heard as Sides crashed into one side of the table they'd all been sitting at.

Cups that were still half full of high grade shot up into the air. The sparkling squeaked in surprise and was quick to head for cover under yet another table. And Magnus knew the situation was going from bad to worse as the liquid splashed down all over the twins and the floor.

"Frag! There goes my wax job!" Sunny griped, feeling the cool liquid dripping off his armor. A cup landed a few feet in front of his view. "Ah, what a waste of a perfectly good drink too!"

An excited squeal sounded from Optimus when he saw the cups on the floor. One was even close by! Maybe it had something in them. They'd be easier to get a drink from since he still couldn't open the canister he was holding. He set his prize down and headed for the cup.

"DON'T LET HIM NEAR THE STUFF!" Magnus ordered when he saw the sparkling crawl straight for the high grade that was splattered on the floor.

Not hesitating for a single fraction of an astrosecond, Bumblebee dove over the twins straight for the sparkling. He'd heard that sound in Magnus' voice during battle a number of times and knew his orders had to be carried out no matter what!

The twins knew this too. They succeeded in making a mech of a mess! They we sent crashing back down to the floor when Bumblebee collided with them.

(_**TRILL!**_)

Optimus was all excited! He had his prize and immediately put the cup to his mouth.

Magnus didn't hesitate to call for Ratchet over the PA system. He didn't want to take the risk even if the cup was completely empty. He prayed it was empty.

"I got him!" Sides exclaimed, reaching and managing to grab hold of a little arm.

(_**GROWL!**_)

"**AAHH!! MY FRAGGIN FINGERS!**"

The sparkling was on the loose…again.

Ironhide and Chromia had sprinted as fast as they could when they heard Magnus' shouts. They arrived just in time to see a small, blue, red, and silver streak climb up the on top of the three mechs piled on the floor.

"What the…" Ironhide gasped, his optics widening in total surprise upon seeing a sparkling perched, for a mere astrosecond, on top of the mech mess before it scrambled down and disappeared under a table.

"Was that a…?" Chromia started but was just as surprised as her sparkmate.

"It is and we have to get hold of him," Magnus replied. "Chromia, don't let him out of this room. Sunny, Sides…get over here by the door. If he comes near it try to send him in a different direction. Chromia will back you up. Bumblebee, get that high grade cleaned up off the floor. Ironhide and I will try to coral him."

"We should just let him use up his energy," Ironhide suggested as everyone started following Magnus' orders. "They can only go for so long before they pass out into recharge.

"Normally that would be a good idea," Magnus replied. "Only he took a drink from a cup that may or may not have had high grade in it."

"Ow, my fingers," Sides grimaced as he and his brother stood beside Chromia now.

"Your fingers? What about my wax job! It's totally ruined."

"Sunny, zip it shut!" Magnus barked.

He didn't need the twins' antics at this very moment. Not when they could possibly have a violently ill sparkling on their hands.

Ironhide nodded that he was ready.

"So, who's sparkling is it?" he asked, keeping his voice low as he and Magnus advanced slowly.

"Optimus and Elita's. Here, turn the tables over so he has no where to hide."

As they turned the table over, something didn't sit right with Ironhide's processor. Yeah, it was rare that he thought hard about things. But he made it a point to never think too hard like some mechs he knew, namely Optimus and Prowl.

"Why didn't they tell us?" Hide asked, as they slowly turned over another table.

"The fight I guess."

"But that doesn't make sense. Chromia said they were arguing about sparklings. Optimus wants one and Elita doesn't."

Magnus had to admit he was miffed on that one.

"But the sparkling looks a lot like Optimus," Magnus said. "Same colors and everything."

Optimus sat still. Everything was so quiet now, except for his tank which was gurgling again. And he felt something else. Something above his tank felt…different. He patted his chest not understanding what he was the feeling inside.

(_gurgle_)

His hunger got the better of him. He quickly forgot about the strange feeling in his chest. He had to get back to where he left his drink. Where was it? Oh yeah. He crawled fast to another hiding spot closer to his intended destination. From there he could see he had a clear path to his drink.

Only he couldn't see if those funny mechs were coming after him or not. So he slowly climbed up on a table to see why everything was so quiet. The big red, white, and blue mech and an all black mech stopped and stared at him. What are they doing?

"You're right. He does look a lot like Optimus. Only it's just not possible for him and Elita to kiss, make up, interface, and pop out a sparkling all in one morning. You just can't spark one that fast. Optimus may be good, but no mech is _**that**_ good!"

"That makes sense," Magnus whispered. "It doesn't change the fact that we need to get control of this sparkling. And I think I know where he's going. Whatever you do, don't move."

Magnus' optics locked on the sparklings. Tiny blue orbs looked back then looked towards his prize and his intended destination. Oh yeah, this was going to be interesting!

The sparkling dove off the table and scrambled across the floor. Magnus leaped over the chair in front of him, slid on his leg across a table, and then dove arms extended, hands ready to latch onto…

(_**SQUAK! GROWL!)**_

"Go ahead, bite me as hard as you want, little one," he grinned triumphantly, as he got to his feet. "You're not getting away."

Optimus was furious! He chomped, growled, beeped harshly, thrashed about, and basically was doing everything he could to break from the mean red, white and blue mech. All he wanted was a drink! And his drink was still on the floor.

Suddenly his tank felt funny. And he had a disgusting taste in his mouth. It was getting worse too!

"What happened? Who's hurt?" Ratchet asked, pushing his way into the room.

Magnus didn't have time to respond. He didn't even have time to turn around. The sparkling made a tiny choking sound before it spewed partially digested energon all over Magnus' freshly cleaned armor.

'Oh this is so not my day!'

Ratchet froze in his tracks upon seeing a squalling sparkling in Magnus' hands.

"Where in the universe did that sparkling come from?" Ratchet demanded.

Everyone looked at him, the CMO, the only mech qualified in this sector of the universe to have delivered a sparkling, as if he'd lost his processor!

* * *

Up next: Wheeljack arrives, Prowl and Jazz show up, and the sparklings true identity is revealed! The beatings begin. And a worried femme shows up trying to find her sparkmate.


	10. Chapter 10

Ok, we slow down a bit. There's a lot of dialogue. I needed a breather after some of that action. Plus, I really wanted to fit this once particular scene in. It's a tender moment between Jazz and Prowl. And the only tender moment in the chapter. Also, I tried to stick in some more sparkling cuteness. Sorry, I love sparklings!

* * *

_**In the hall near the back entrance to the base**_

Jazz had searched the entire base before he finally decided to head outside. Prowl was really worried about something. So worried he was shielding his spark so Jazz wouldn't worry. Only he was worried. He always worried when Prowl worried.

"There you are," Jazz sighed in relief upon seeing his sparkmate coming in from the back entrance to the base. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Hey Jazz," Prowl frowned, walking slowly.

"What's wrong, Prowl?" he asked, gently nudging at the frowning mech through their spark bond.

"I'm not sure if I'm overreacting or not."

"Just tell me. Not talking about it is eating you up inside. I can feel it."

Prowl laughed softly, "I could never keep my feelings hidden from you."

"Never," Jazz grinned, putting an arm around Prowl's shoulders as they continued to walk. "Tell me what's troubling you. You'll feel better."

There was a long moment of silence before Prowl reluctantly admitted what was troubling him.

"I can't find Optimus. I've looked all over the base. I've hailed him a dozen times or so with no responses."

"Ah man, you know he's probably with Elita getting busy."

"I hope so, Jazz. It's just…"

Prowl sighed. He felt so foolish. Only his instincts were telling him something was seriously wrong while his processor was telling him he was overreacting. He hated it when the two never agreed.

Thank Primus for Jazz.

"It's just what?"

"Optimus didn't show up for his shift," Prowl answered. "He may never give me an ETA if he's with Elita and…_**detained**_. But he always notifies me when he's going to be late for his shift."

Jazz smirked, patting Prowl on the back. He had an idea why Optimus might not have told Prowl.

"I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about," Jazz smiled. "And I think I may know why he didn't tell you. Optimus and Elita have a spar…"

"_**RATCHET, MEDICAL EMERGENCY IN THE RECREATION ROOM!**__"_

Jazz's spark just about jumped up into his vocal processor. Oh no! The sparkling!

"Come on, Prowl!" he insisted, trotting backwards.

Only Jazz didn't get far and Prowl didn't even have a chance to shout a warning when Ratchet shot out of a doorway.

_**WHAM!**_

"SORRY, JAZZ!" Ratchet shouted over his shoulder as he kept running.

Jazz blinked up at the ceiling as he laid flat on the floor. What the frag?

"Are you ok?" Prowl asked, smiling warmly as he knelt down beside Jazz.

"Does that qualify as a hit and run?" the silver mech mumbled, rubbing his head.

"If it'd been the twins, then yes," the black and white mech replied, hoisting his sparkmate up onto his feet. Then Prowl's optics suddenly narrowed. "Is that…dirt on your armor? Have you been racing again?"

"Well…"

"For pits sake, Jazz!"

"Cool your jets. We weren't even on a road!"

"WE?!" Prowl's optics darkened. Jazz knew he was in trouble now! "_**We**_ will discuss this later! Now let's move it. I need to find out what's going on in the recreation room."

Jazz didn't say a word as they ran through the halls. He hated it when Prowl was mad. Jazz was experienced enough to know to give his bonded time to cool off before discussing the issue calmly.

Besides, the issue at hand was as important to Jazz as Prowl. If Magnus was calling for Ratchet then something must be wrong with the sparkling! Ever since the disaster deaths of so many younglings and sparklings in the youth sectors on Cybertron, any new sparkling was precious to all, especially Jazz.

And judging from the sound of the sparkling's cries the little mech was in some discomfort. Jazz just hoped it wasn't anything too serious as he and Prowl arrived just outside the door of the recreation room.

"Will someone answer my question?!" Ratchet insisted as he moved across the room and took the squalling sparkling into his arms.

From the partially digested energon splattered all over Magnus' armor and the distinct spell of high grade in the air, Ratchet deduced the sparkling had some kind of upset to his systems. Presumably the ingestion of high grade from the looks of the scattered tables, chairs, and cups Bumblebee had just picked up off the floor.

Thankfully Ratchet's initial scan indicated that whatever small amount of high grade the sparkling ingested was vomited up with no harm to his systems. His cries were simply that of a normally upset sparkling not understanding what had just happened. Ratchet gently rocked him knowing it would help quiet him down.

"_**Where**_ did the sparkling come from?" he asked again, then thought to himself, 'and why do you look like Optimus?'

Prowl glanced at Jazz and mouthed the word sparkling as they moved into the room. Jazz nodded with that big grin on his face like he just overloaded.

"Well, he's Optimus' and Elita's sparkling," Bumblebee answered.

"**WHAT?**!" Prowl and Ratchet all blurted out at the same time.

Bumblebee suddenly felt like he was getting interrogated by the Deceptions with all the questions that were fired at him. He back up slowly wishing he hadn't been brave enough to activate his vocal processor.

"What do you mean Optimus and Elita's sparkling? When did that happened? Why didn't they tell us? Why aren't they here tending to it?"

"Hang on," Magnus interrupted. "Ratchet, you didn't you deliver him?"

"No, I most certainly did not!" he huffed, then glared at Chromia. "And I would think _**those**_ femmes here with the ability to produce sparklings would be responsible enough to come to me!"

"Don't give me that look," Chromia growled, her hand twitching to pull out her gun. "And lay off Elita too! I know for a fact she didn't spark him. We were only talking a short while ago about sparklings. And being her best friend she would have told me such important news before she would have even told you!"

"Agreed, both Optimus and Elita would have made an announcement," Ironhide added, putting an arm around his femme in order to calm her down.

"But Jazz said that it was their sparkling based on the fact that he looked a lot like Optimus," Bee said helpfully.

"Maybe the big guy has a secret he's not sharing with us," Sunny snickered immediately receiving a smack on the back of his head from his brother.

Never insult a mech when he's not around to defend his mechhood! Not that any intelligent mech would ever challenge Optimus' mechness unless they wanted their aft for a head.

"I hate to admit this…but Sunny could be right," Magnus sighed, trying to ignoring the stickiness on his armor. As soon as things were settled he was hitting the showers again!

Sunny nearly glitched! He was never right about anything!

"The Matrix does give Optimus…certain abilities…according to what I've heard and witnessed with my own optics," Magnus explained.

"That's right, it brought me back," Jazz smiled proudly.

"True, but the energy drain to bring you back was enough to keep Optimus in recharge for three days in my med bay," Ratchet frowned. "And Optimus isn't so irresponsible that he'd try to create a new life on his own no matter how desperate he is for a sparkling."

"Plus, he would never do that to Elita," Bumblebee said. "He loves her too much."

"Still it doesn't explain the fact that the sparkling looks a lot like Optimus," Jazz commented, crossing his arms across his chest.

Ironhide was in danger of overheating his CPU again as his optics focused on the sparkling. The little mech had quieted down soft whimpers. It was easy to see he still wasn't feeling well. And obviously not in any danger otherwise Ratchet would have rushed to the Med Bay.

"Let me see him," Hide said, reaching his hands out.

Everyone moved off to the side, opposite side of Magnus cause of the rotten smell emanating off his armor, to give Ratchet and Ironhide some space as they inspected the sparkling.

Optimus started trembling. He didn't like how the big, black mech was looking at him. His big black hands were rough as they turned him over and over…and over. He wasn't feeling good and the pressuring within his chest was getting worse too now.

"You see that?" Ironhide pointed to a mark on the sparkling's cheek.

On instinct and without knowing what he was doing, Optimus' mask slid into place to protect himself from probing fingers.

Ratchet and Ironhide were both stunned. They knew sparklings couldn't do that!

"Exactly _**where**_ did you and Jazz find the sparkling, Bumblebee?" Ratchet asked.

"He was all alone in Wheeljack's lab," Jazz answered. "I assumed that the little fella's protoform was constructed there."

"Normally that would be a logical conclusion," Ratchet muttered, his processor going back over how frantic Wheeljack was looking for something in his lab.

"Only you said it right Jazz; protoform's are constructed…but most of the time without armor," Ironhide added. He looked at Ratchet. The armor, the distinct marking on the cheek, the mask. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm thinking I'm going to kill a certain mech when he shows his fraggin face!"

And just after Ratchet said that, said mech slowly walked into the recreation room.

Wheeljack glanced around noticing the mess, the smell, the sticky substance all over Magnus, the menacing glare on the CMO's faceplates, and the sparkling in Ironhide's hands. Oh frag, the sparkling was in Ironhide's hands! Jack had come to the recreation room to confess what he'd done and now was having second, third, and fourth thoughts about it.

_**This**_ was going to hurt so badly!

No one had ever claimed that Ratchet was the quickest of mechs. But Primus almighty, Wheeljack would swear the bolts off his aft were still back in the doorway with as fast as he was yanked and dragged across the room.

"**Tell me! Tell me that isn't Optimus!**" Ratchet shrieked, roughly yanking down hard on Wheeljack collar, enabling him a closer view of the sparkling that Ironhide had now placed on the table.

"It was an accident!" was all Wheeljack managed to say.

Everyone else in the room was stunned into complete silence upon the realized that the cute, cuddly, puking, lubricating, giggling, smiling sparkling was…Optimus Prime! They're cerebral processors glitched because they just couldn't compute such…such a catastrophe!

The big black mech was angry. The big yellow mech was angry. Optimus flinched every time the big white mech got smack, kicked, shoved, or punched. Optimus was afraid he was going to be the next one to be bounced back and forth between the two angry mechs.

"What do you mean an accident?"

_**WHACK!**_

"OW!"

"Why didn't you call me?"

_**SMACK!**_

"OW! I did…OW…call!"

_**KICK!**_

"Butyourcommunicatorwasout.SoIhurriedtothemedbaytogetyou!" Jack said as fast as he could before crouching down, preparing himself for the next blow. Ow, he could literally feel the dents in his armor.

Ratchet paused, fist reared back and ready to punch Jack in the face plates as Ironhide yanked the engineer upright.

Prowl and Magnus, unglitched, and quickly took control of the situation. Beating on the engineer would do nothing in rectifying the situation. So, Prowl pulled Wheeljack to a safe distance while Magnus grabbed hold of Ironhide and Ratchet.

"Let's just calm down," Magnus ordered to them both, giving them a good shake.

The two mechs huffed but their forms remained tense, optics flaring as they glared at Wheeljack.

"It's not going to do any of us any good if you damage Wheeljack," Prowl insisted calmly. "Jack is the only one who can fix Optimus, if that is Optimus."

"It is Optimus," Jack sighed. "He was helping me move a piece of equipment that I had been working on. I activated it, like I had done before. Nothing ever happened before when I turned it on. I honestly didn't think anything would happen! Optimus walked in front of the device, a beam of light surrounded him, there was a bright flash, and then…oops, a sparkling was Optimus sitting on the floor."

"Ratchet, Jack did try to contact you," Prowl said. "He called me when he couldn't reach you."

"Your scuffle with Ironhide damaged your communicator," Magnus added.

"Then I knocked Wheeljack out when I missed hitting Ratchet," Ironhide muttered, finally relaxing.

"But why didn't you tell me the moment you regained consciousness?" Ratchet asked as he too relaxed.

"I was so worried. I left Optimus all by himself. He was so cute and small…I felt bad."

"Hang on. I'm trying to make sure I'm getting this right. This little sparkling, right here, the one we've been going gaga over is…Optimus Prime?" Sunny asked.

"Yes," Jack sighed, dropping his head in shame.

Every optic turned and looked at the sparkling.

Optimus' mask retracted so he could cram a finger in his mouth and chew on it nervously. Big tears started streaming down his cheeks. They were all staring at him like he did a big oops. He was so confused and scared.

(_beep?_)

"So, who gets to tell Elita?" Bumblebee asked.

The room was eerily silent save the soft whimpers from the sparkling. Each one of them knew you don't mess with Elita's mech. There wasn't a fiercer femme in the galaxy when it came to her mech. Not even Chromia's femme warrior prowess could compete with the femme commander.

Elita wasn't just Prime's bonded sparkmate. She was his equal in every way, except maybe physical strength. She was as passionate about the Autobot cause as Optimus. She was as passionate about her love for Optimus as his was for her.

No one ever dared do something to one without some kind of retribution from the other. _**No one**_.

"There you all are!" Elita panted as she ran into the recreation room. "I need your help! Optimus is in trouble. I can feel it. I think he's under attack, he feels threatened. And he's hurting too. We have to find him!"

Elita had sprinted all over the base trying to find her love. She couldn't raise him through the communicator. Nor could she get him to respond via the spark bond. All this meant was that Optimus was in trouble and he was being a stubborn aft by trying to not involve her for fear she'd get hurt.

It was rare that Elita ever worried for the lugnut this much. She knew Optimus could take care of himself. But he was hurting and feeling threatened. She didn't like her mech getting hurt anymore than he like her getting injured.

And equally important, not one of his Autobots liked to see him get hurt either and would fight fiercely to protect him. So when none of them moved to help, Elita was undeniably confused and a little pissed off.

"Why are you all just standing there gawking? Our Prime is in trouble!"

"Optimus is safe, Elita," Magnus finally spoke up. "You have my word."

"In fact, he's in this very room," Sunny smirked.

"Shut it!" Sides hissed, smacking his brother yet again.

Wheeljack sighed. He knew there was going to be consequences but it was his responsibility to inform Elita of her bonded sparkmate's…_**condition**_.

"Elita, Optimus is safe as Magnus says," the engineer started, gathering all his courage up to limp towards her.

Ow, his leg hurt. He wouldn't be surprised if there was an impression of Ironhide's foot in the armor. Jack ignored the pain, gently taking hold of Elita's arm and led her across the room. Thank Primus Ratchet, Magnus, and Ironhide were still blocking her view of the sparkling. It gave Wheeljack the opportunity to tell Elita as delicately as possible.

"It was an accident," he continued, keeping optic contact with hers so she'd see his sincerity. "I take full responsibility. And I promise I will return Optimus to his old self."

"What do you mean an accident?" she questioned worriedly. "What happened to Optimus?"

"Health wise he's perfectly fine, Elita," Ratchet said. "He's just…changed."

"I don't understand," she said, getting a bit annoyed why no one would just come right out and say what was wrong with Optimus.

"It's best if you see with your own optics," Ironhide said and then he, Ratchet, and Magnus moved aside.

The tension in the room was so thick it'd send a Decepticon running for their life!

Elita got her answer. Just not one she was prepared for. Primus was it _**so**_ one she was not prepared for! Her optic covers blinked rapidly and her cerebral processor worked fast to sort out what she was seeing.

It was…it was…a sparkling?

The red, blue, silver, and decorative flamed armor sparkling looked up at her with curious optics. Elita observed that the colors and markings of the armor were identical to Optimus. She'd know better than anyone having been seen it up close and personal during their intimate moments.

Then the sparkling smiled up at her and cooed. Despite the finger in his mouth, she recognized that smile. A smile that only she had been privileged enough to see during private moments. Only that wasn't all. The smile was accompanied by the unmistakable…happiness she felt within her spark.

"Optimus?" she questioned.

Oh wow! Optimus knew her! He didn't know how. It was just a feeling! He felt a connection with the red femme staring down at him. He clapped and giggled excitedly. That was the feeling in his chest! It was her! Wow! She was pretty too!

Only, something suddenly changed in what he was feeling from her. Optimus grew afraid, pulling his arms and legs into himself and trembled. Her face was even red now like the rest of her.

She looked angry. _**Very**_ angry.

* * *

Up next: Elita goes ballistic. No one is safe. Not even little sparklings.


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks again everyone for the reviews! I'm glad your enjoying the story. I'm having so much fun with it. Now let's begin with the mayhem that only one femme can bring.

a/n: _italics_ denotes communicator talk between the Autobots

* * *

_**Recreation Room: Take Three**_

Ironhide was the first to react before Elita pulled out her gun. He was probably the only one in the room other than Optimus…well, the mature version of Optimus that is, that has had experience with a bonded femme and her fury. He quit counting the scorch marks and dents on his armor long ago and just accepted them whenever Chromia was mad at him. Although, he still did his best to avoid as many as possible.

Wheeljack, on the other hand, was probably the most inexperienced mech in the room with angry femmes. But as Ironhide was pulling him to temporary safety as laser fire shot by obliterating a chair, Jack was smart enough to realize that he should have spent less time in his lab and more time with femmes while on Cybertron. Perhaps he can change that, if he lives long enough!

Bumblebee was the next to react, shoving the twins down to the ground and then diving for cover. He'd been an unsuspecting victim, caught in the crossfire of Ironhide and Chromia on a few too many occasions. So yeah, he knew to avoid angry bonded femmes at all costs if you wanted to remain in one piece!

Ratchet was the nearest to Elita yet was in shock at how fast she had turned and fired at Wheeljack. When he regained his senses, his first mistake was going for her gun to disrupt her as she took aim at Wheeljack again. It did work. However, his second mistake was thinking he'd be able take the gun from her. Needless to say, Ratchet will _**never**_ make fun of Ironhide or Optimus again whenever they get nailed right in the crotch plate by their femmes.

Magnus was smart enough to know you never go for Elita's gun when she was mad unless you wanted your interface appliance blown off. He managed to yank Ratchet's curled up, in excruciating pain, form off to the side just before Elita pulled the trigger. A smoldering hole in the floor took the medic's place and luckily for Magnus Elita's focus turned back towards Wheeljack otherwise he was next on her hit list.

Jazz, being one of the fastest and most nimble mechs able to deal with angry femmes, charged straight at Elita hoping to catch her off guard as her focus was shifting from Ratchet to Wheeljack. _**Big**_ mistake. The femme ducked his outstretched arms. And the next thing he knew was that he was in the air and upside down.

The first thing Chromia did when she saw Elita whip out her gun was knock over a table and just take cover. She knew that nothing was going to calm her friend down during this initial outburst of rage. It was best to let Elita blow the slag out of things before talking rationally to her. Attacking her right now would only make things worse.

"Mechs, you'll never learn," she snickered to herself.

Actually, Chromia found the entire situation hilarious – Optimus a sparkling. No one, including her, could possibly have imagined their aft ripping mech leader was ever once so cute and adorable. This was going to be a serious blow to his mech wrecking reputation.

Prowl was as calm as ever quickly took in the situation in order to plan a course of action. Bumblebee and the twins were safe behind the cover a couple of tables. Although, Sunny might get that smirk on his face blasted off if he keeps popping his head up for a look. Nearest them, behind another table was Chromia…laughing. Figures. Crazy femme! Ratchet was safe enough now that Magnus pulled him to safety. The same could be said for Jazz after he crashed hard into some tables.

Optimus was on one of those tables crying as he fell to the floor. He just laid there screaming. He didn't understand what was going on. And he was afraid it was his fault. Why else would the pretty red femme be so angry?

"**MAGNUS**…" Prowl shouted as he and Ironhide were struggling to get Jack on his feet. "**GET OPTIMUS OUT OF HERE**!"

The City Commander didn't have to be told twice! Once Ratchet was a somewhat safe distance away, Magnus snatched up a squalling Optimus off the floor. Then he made his way for the door dodging the laser fire as he went. If he hadn't been such a large target he might have made it out without a scorch mark or two on his aft.

Frag! It may as well have been a war zone with Elita using the maximum setting on her gun!

"**GET ON YOUR FRAGGIN FEET AND RUN**!" Ironhide growled, using all his strength to get the terrified engineer up and onto his feet.

With an extra powerful shove from Hide, Wheeljack got going out the door. He stumbled for a bit around Magnus huge form but managed to stay on his feet. The mech tore off down the hall like he had the entire fraggin Decepticon armada after him.

"**You'd better find a good hiding place**!" Magnus shouted as Wheeljack sprinted by.

"**I'm open to suggestions**!"

"_I'd try Optimus and Elita's quarters. It'd be the last place she'd look_," he told the engineer via their communicators.

"_Tha…Whoa!"_

Magnus cringed when Wheeljack tripped and fell and skidded across the floor. The poor mech hurried to his feet and headed off again.

"I swear Optimus, the worst kind of trouble always manages to just find you," he said to the whimpering sparkling in his hands. "You're like a magnet for it. I mean, look at you!"

A loud crash behind them made Magnus turn as he continued walking fast. There was Prowl with his head and shoulders on the floor while the rest of him was up against the wall. Only Ironhide was now blocking Elita's path, his wide form filled the doorway.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" the femme commander growled and took aim.

"That's our queue, Optimus," Magnus said as he took off running as fast as his long legs could carry him.

"_Hold your position as long as you can_," Prowl told Ironhide over their communicators. "_We need to give Jack as much time as possible to hide_."

"_Easy for you to say, you don't have a primed weapon aimed at your crotch_!" Hide fired back some what shakily with his hands up in the air.

"**Elita, just calm down**!" Chromia snapped, not wanting any vital bits of her mech to get blown off in haste.

"Yeah, Elita. It's all cool," Jazz said, pulling Chromia back just a bit.

They didn't want Elita to feel trapped while she was still pissed off.

"It was an accident," Ratchet grimaced as he limped across the room. "Killing Wheeljack isn't going to bring Optimus back."

"I'm not gonna kill him…yet! Now, move it Ironhide or else."

"_Guys…let her go_," Chromia said to them via their communicators.

"_You sure_?" Prowl asked.

"_**I'm**__ sure_!" Ironhide commented.

"_Let her go_," Ratchet agreed.

"_Trust me, guys. She needs to burn off some more of that rage before she's rational again_," Chromia said.

"_Wheeljack, come in. You in a secure location?_" Prowl questioned.

"_I'm hiding now…I hope Magnus' suggestion works._"

"Ironhide, let Elita go," Prowl ordered.

"Wise choice," Elita snarled.

Once she was clear of the doorway she took off running. She was gonna get that fragger no matter what! No one messes with her mech except her!

Ironhide and Chromia both breathed a huge sigh of relief moving into each others' arms.

"You were magnificent," she purred to him, making him raise an optic ridge at her.

"Get your processors out of the pit!" Ratchet snapped.

"We can't help it when a good fight gets us all riled up," Ironhide smirked, sliding his hand down onto he's femme's aft.

"Later you two!" Prowl warned. "You three younglings! Front and center!"

"Are you sure it's safe?" Bumblebee asked while he, Sunny and Side slowly peaked up from behind their hiding spot.

"She might come back!" Sides added.

"Yeah, she's scary!" Sunny remarked.

"I need three deviants to keep their optics on her without her knowing and you fit that description perfectly. Now get moving before she gets too far," Prowl ordered.

"Where's Optimus?" Ratchet asked after the three young mechs scamper out of the recreation room.

"With Magnus," Prowl answered.

"At least the little guy's safe," Jazz smiled.

The four of them gave Jazz a funny look then they all burst into laughter.

"Prime is never gonna live this one down," Ironhide chuckled.

"I never knew he was so cute and cuddly," Chromia added.

"Especially with those little antennas," Jazz smiled wide. "And he's got the cutest expressions that just make your spark melt."

Prowl groaned, rubbing his forehead. Is anyone on this base mature?

"Let's remember Optimus is still our Prime and he deserves our respect," Prowl interjected. "I think he's earned that much from us."

"But until Wheeljack gets him back to normal I think you and Magnus need to take charge," Ratchet seriously said to Prowl. "As of now, Optimus is off the active duty roster."

"Yeah, the only thing Optimus will be in charge of is spew, mini recharges, and being a cute bundle of scrap under everyone's feet," Ironhide snickered.

An alarm suddenly blared from the PA system.

"Frag, she went for more firepower! That's the armory alarm I set up!"

"Perfect," Prowl groaned. "Jazz, get the alarm shut off. Ratchet, get a sedative or anything so we can knock her out before she demolishes the base. Chromia, try talking to her. See if you can get her to calm down. Everyone is a go for weapons on minimum setting but in self defense only. Let's move out!"

* * *

Up next: We'll drop in on Magnus and see how Optimus is doing


	12. Chapter 12

This was mainly for pure sparkling cuteness. I couldn't resist. Plus, phoenix13 was ripping me a new aft for not show her mech, Ultra Magnus, some love. Hehe. I couldn't help that he ended up getting peed on or vomited on. So here's the love girl!

a/n: _italics_ again denote comlink communications between bots.

* * *

**Ultra Magnus' quarters**

With Optimus secured in one arm, Magnus punched in his security code to keep his door locked. No one could override it except for Prowl or Optimus. Magnus wasn't going to risk Elita barging in and accidentally shooting Optimus or himself in her haste to shoot Wheeljack.

"You feeling better? You stopped crying."

Optimus just stared at him, blinking his optics covers slowly. He still wasn't sure what to make of everything. It was all too much for his little cerebral processor to process! He just knew the pretty femme was angry.

"Maybe you're tired. All this excitement is a bit too much for even me," he smiled, laying Optimus down on his recharge bed. "How about a nice little recharge, hmm?"

(_squawk_!)

"Ok, ok," Magnus chuckle as Optimus moved into a sitting position, glaring up at him. "I see some things haven't changed. Still stubborn. No one could ever make you do anything you didn't want to."

Magnus glanced down at the dry sticky mess on his armor. Arg, the stench!

"Well, I'm going to go get clean up really quick. The stickiness I can deal with, it's the smell that's killing me."

(_beep?_)

"I'll only be a minute, I promise. Just stay right there."

The big red, white, and blue mech left Optimus alone. He didn't like being alone. The angry pretty red femme might come after him! So he lowered himself off the bed and crawled in the direction the big mech went. It was a smaller room than the other one.

"Oh, no you don't!" Magnus exclaimed, scooping Optimus up off the floor. "Only femmes allowed with me in the shower. I don't care if you are a sparkling and my best friend. I have limits you know."

The moment Optimus aft was set back on the bed tears filled his optics.

"Don't cry…"

Optimus cried. It wasn't just a little whimper either. No, it had to be a loud wail that reverberated off the walls.

Now, Magnus could have just let him cry while quickly taking a quick shower. But then he'd feel guilty about it. He hated it when sparklings or younglings cried. Every so often he'd have nightmares about how the youth sectors had been destroyed. He never forgot the sounds of so many young ones dying or in pain. Nor will he ever forget the pained look on Optimus face when they searched for survivors.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered, picking up the sparkling. The cries instantly quieted down. "You so _**owe**_ me Optimus. You lubricated on me, puked on me, and bit me. And now this! I'm going to make sure you pay me back for each one, once you're back to yourself." He sighed, "If you get back to yourself."

(_beep?_)

"I wonder if you'll even remember any of this," he said, gently setting Optimus down in small counter in the washroom. "Primus, I sure hope you don't! I don't think either of us can live with this! You just stay there while I clean up."

Confident Optimus wouldn't fall Magnus moved into the shower stall and activated the cleansing reagents. He closed his optic covers and just enjoyed the hot liquid spraying him for several long minutes. What a relief to have the stink finally washed off! Yup, he was definitely going to make Optimus pay him back ten fold!

Optimus' optics widened. Wow! What's that?

Magnus' optic covers snapped open at the sound of an over excited sparkling. Optimus wasn't on the counter anymore. No, he was on the floor, in the shower stall, and slapping at the suds around Magnus' feet.

"Why me, Primus?" he asked the ceiling above.

Trills of delight echoed off the walls, suds were tossed up in the air, one sparkling was as happy as could be, and one big mech decided to enjoy the moment and smiled.

"May as well get you all cleaned up then. Maybe if you're all shiny Elita won't be so mad anymore. What do you think?"

A lightening fast Optimus climbed straight up and dangled from Magnus' chest armor with one hand while the other slapped at the cleansing reagent as it sprayed for the faucet over head.

"Here, this might make it easier…for both of us," Magnus chuckled.

With a firm grip he held Optimus under the shower, one enabling the sparkling to kick and slash at the solvent excitedly and two, enabling the sparkling to get cleaned up. Magnus himself was laughing. Optimus wasn't afraid at all blinking his optic covers rapidly as the liquid flowed over him and giggling hysterically.

However, all good things must come to an end. As much as Magnus was enjoying the moment he couldn't let anyone see him like this. Else his reputation as one the strongest and toughest mech wreckers would be ruined…forever!

Optimus looked up hopefully at the faucet but nothing came out. He beeped sadly. That was fun. But then he brightened up as he was wrapped in a fluffy white thing like the yellow and black mech had earlier.

The big red, white, and blue mech was talking to him while he was set down on the bed. Optimus didn't understand a word nor did he care at the moment. He buried his face in the soft fluff and blew raspberry after raspberry. This was fun too!

When Magnus returned from drying off he couldn't see Optimus at all, save one little foot that stuck out from the bundled towel. He reached for the towel in a bit of a panic thinking Optimus was tangled and stuck. But the towel rolled around with a raspberry blowing and giggling sparkling inside it.

Obviously Optimus wasn't in any kind of distress. So, all Magnus did was make sure his friend didn't roll off the recharge bed in a fit of excitement. Again, he decided to enjoy the moment and just kneel down and watch. It wasn't every day you got to see this side of Optimus Prime.

And when it became obvious that Optimus was trying to untangle himself, with his little aft wiggling back and forth as he tried to crawl backwards out from beneath the towel, Magnus decided to lend a hand. It was one happy sparkling that was uncovered who gave the mech a huge grin.

"Keep up this cuteness and no one will want you to go back to being yourself!"

"Ka boo!" Optimus said then pulled the towel up to cover his face.

Magnus gave him a puzzled look.

"Ka boo!" Optimus said again and then pulled the towel to cover his face, again.

"Oh, you mean peek a boo!" Magnus smiled.

Optimus shrieked and giggled. The big mech finally got it!

"So you want to play….peek a boo!"

More giggling, this time partly because Magnus tickled Optimus' belly.

Then Optimus suddenly gasped and froze in his seat. His wide, terrified optics looked past Magnus as if they'd spotted the ghost of Primus himself.

"Optimus?"

The sparkling scrambled off the bed and crawled for safety underneath the desk in the corner. Worried, Magnus rose to his feet with the intent of going after Optimus. That's when he heard the footfalls racing towards and then past his door.

"**COME OUT YOU FRAGGIN COWARD!**" Elita shouted as she continued away from Magnus' quarters.

Optimus felt her anger. It must have been something he did. Everyone else seemed to like him but her. So that meant he did something to make her angry. Maybe she didn't like him.

"Oh, I see," Magnus frowned. He moved across the room and knelt down to see Optimus trembling in the corner. He gently extracted his friend, cradling him in his arms. "You couldn't have picked a nice femme? You know…dainty, sweet, who just loved to cuddle with you. No, you had to pick the stubborn, smart, 'I'll kick your aft before you touch mine' femme! Don't get me wrong Optimus, Elita is beautiful but sometimes I just don't understand what you see in her."

Optimus' body suddenly when limp in Magnus' arms. His optics stared at nothing, not even acknowledging Magnus finger's as he wiggled them above.

"Optimus?"

Panic filled the City Commanders spark.

"_Ratchet, please tell me your communicator's fixed!_"

"_Yeah, I fixed while Wheeljack was laid up in the Med Bay earlier._"

"_Where are you?_" Magnus asked, punching in the code to unlock the door.

"_I'm heading back to the Med Bay now. I'm telling you, I'm one lucky mech to still be in one piece. Elita's shot missed by mere centimeters. Still fraggin hurts though. Primus, I'll never make fun of Ironhide or Optimus again!_"

"_Something's wrong with Optimus_!" he said, slithering out into the hall slowly. Once he saw it was clear he took off running. "_He was giggling one second and now…he's not moving._"

"_Ah, he's probably just recharging._"

"_**It's not recharging! I know the fraggin difference**__!"_

"_Ok, I'll…_"

"_I'm on my way to you, now. ETA two minutes._"

Magnus stared down at the limp form in his arms. He drove his legs harder.

"_Make that one minute._"

Fifty four seconds later, Magnus rushed into the Med Bay. Ratchet had the main exam table in the middle of the room all prepped. So that's where Optimus was gently set down.

Ratchet knew Magnus was never the type to over react. And right away he could see something was not right with Optimus.

"Spark rate is slowing…how can that be, he's perfectly healthy," he muttered out loud to himself. He looked up from Optimus. "What exactly was he doing?"

"We were playing peek a boo. Then he suddenly got scared and hid under my desk."

"Anything else happen?"

"Elita went running by my quarters."

"Frag it to pit! They're still spark bonded! Elita mentioned she could feel Optimus was being threatened. And Ironhide said he noticed a change in Optimus just before Elita went berserk!"

"I don't understand…"

"Sparklings are very sensitive…oh Primus."

Ratchet shot across the room and punched the button to activate the PA system.

"EVERYONE FALL BACK TO THE RECREATION ROOM! THIS IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY!"

"_What's going on?_" Prowl immediately asked.

"_Just see to it everyone does so. Do nothing to stop Elita!_" he desperately told Prowl.

"_Understood. Prowl out._"

"I REPEAT. THIS IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. FALL BACK TO THE RECREATION ROOM AND LEAVE ELITA ALONE."

So as not to cause a total panic he contacted Elita through a private comlink.

"_Elita, I need you to listen to me very carefully. Optimus is in trouble and he needs __**your **__help. This is not a prank or a ploy. I'm sure you heard me tell everyone to back off. Now, I need you to get to the Med Bay as quickly as possible. Acknowledge me please_."

Ratchet waited for her response. None came.

"_**Elita, please, your bonded sparkmate's life is in imminent danger. Acknowledge me please!**_"

Still, no response.

Ratchet began to pray.

* * *

Up next: We trail Elita around the base for a short bit and find out whether or not she received Ratchet urgent communiqué.


	13. Chapter 13

I know that was an evil cliffy. I couldn't help it! I do it often, sorry. Not even the death threats I received for one cliffy I did could stop me. Hehe.

So here's one angry femme. Did she hear Ratchet? We'll find out.

* * *

_**Somewhere in the halls**_

Elita had grabbed the biggest cannon her femme frame could carry. One powerful enough to blow a hole through a blast door if necessary. She wasn't going to use on Wheeljack. She was going to use it to scare the slag out of him so he'd come out of his hiding spot!

No one messes with Optimus like that and gets away with it! She didn't even like Ratchet throwing wrenches at her sparkmate. The throwing of objects at Optimus was her right alone as his bonded femme.

And how dare the others try to interfere when she went after Wheeljack!

That just really got Elita's energon boiling! She was so mad that she couldn't even think beyond her goal of getting her two hands on Wheeljack so she could kick the slag out of his aft.

Only that feeling abruptly changed when Elita ran through the crews' quarters of the base. Her anger faded almost instantly. Her spark felt constricted. She couldn't pin point the source of what made her suddenly change. She just came to a stop, looking at the weapon she was carrying.

"What am I doing?" she quietly asked, bowing her head, optics dimming slightly.

A long, weary sigh escaped her.

The answer was obvious - she was overreacting.

Being separated from Optimus for _**so**_ many long years had affected her much more than she realized. How could such a long separation not have affected her so much? She had missed him physically, emotionally, and most importantly her spark had ached terribly to not feel his presence with in her regularly.

She overreacted because of all the worrying she did while separated from her bonded. Was he ok? Did his spark ache as badly as hers? Was he even still alive? That last one bothered her the most, kept her up a lot of nights as she stared at the stars wondering if he was seeing the same stars from so far away.

She overreacted because now that she had him back in her life, she didn't want anything to happen to him. She didn't want to risk losing him. She knew she wasn't as strong as him. She'd never be able to handle it if he were lost to her. She definitely knew her spark wouldn't be able to handle it.

"_Elita, I need you to listen to me very carefully. Optimus is in trouble and he needs __**your **__help. This is not a prank or a ploy. I'm sure you heard me tell everyone to back off. Now, I need you to get to the Med Bay as quickly as possible. Acknowledge me please_."

Elita shuddered, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. She could feel it…she was hurting Optimus. She didn't mean to. She would never intentionally hurt him this badly.

"_**Elita, please, your bonded sparkmate's life is in imminent danger. Acknowledge me please!**_"

Elita flinched upon hearing Ratchet yelling at her. That jolt was a kick in her aft. She knew what she had to do. She quickly flipped the safety switch on for the weapon and set it on the floor. Then she ran like she never ran before.

She had to get to Optimus.

"Elita, thank Primus!" Ratchet sighed with much relief when she hurried into the Med Bay.

He didn't hesitate to lift up Optimus, who was now snuggly wrapped in a blanket. His body temperature had dropped a couple of degrees because of the slower spark rate. Ratchet was just hoping it wasn't too late.

"Here, take hold of him."

"I can't," she wept, covering her face with a shaky hand. "I don't know how to hold a sparkling."

"It's not that hard at all," he insisted.

Elita looked uncertain. It was apparent she was apprehensive about sparklings. Only Optimus didn't have time for this.

"Elita, _**you**_ need to reach out to Optimus or we could lose him," Ratchet explained. "His spark feels rejected. It's a rare occurrence among our kind. But there have been a few recorded cases of a parent rejecting their sparkling. In each instance the sparkling died. Their little sparks are so sensitive when they're so young, just like Optimus is now."

"Elita, I know the idea of being a mother frightens you," Magnus said gently, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Optimus has confided this to me. But he _**truly**_ believes you'd be a wonderful mother if given the opportunity."

"He told you that?" she asked.

"Yes, he did."

"Elita, Optimus still loves you," Ratchet said. "That hasn't changed. You saw how excited he got when he saw you. Just return that love."

Elita nodded that she understood. Trembling arms reached out to take Optimus from Ratchet. It felt so awkward for her but with the CMOs guidance she got the sparkling in a comfortable, cradled position in her arms.

Ratchet wisely moved away, pulling Magnus with him in order to give the femme commander some space. There was nothing the two mechs could do. This was all Elita.

Dimmed sorrowful optics slowly shifted to look up at her. The small form was too relaxed in her arms. She could feel its life force fading.

"I will _**never**_ let you go," she whispered, sending every ounce of love she could muster through their spark bond.

Optimus trembled. He was afraid to feel her anger again. He didn't' like it. But as she smiled down at him and a loving warmth spread through his chest. _**Her**_ love for him. And he could hear her voice even though her lips weren't moving. He eagerly accepted her warm presence and on instinct reached back.

Elita smiled through her tears. Even as a sparkling, Optimus' spark was so powerful when he expressed his emotions to her. The pure, unconditional love he had for her was overwhelming. It was at that point her audio receptors heard a familiar, spark warming sound that she wasn't quite prepared for. She had no idea sparklings could do that!

"He's purring!" she said excitedly.

"I keep forgetting you weren't around when Bumblebee and the twins were sparklings," Ratchet chuckled, running a few scans as he moved closer.

What a relief! Optimus' spark rate was returning to normal and his body temperature was slowly rising. Ratchet felt like he could finally relax for the first time all morning!

"_I'll get Wheeljack, I'm sure he's in need of medical attention,_" Magnus told Ratchet privately. It appeared Optimus was going to be ok. Now it was time for the others to be tended to. "_And I'll inform the others they can stand down._"

The CMO responded with a quick nod before focusing back on Optimus.

"Does he remember anything?" Elita asked with her optics locked on Optimus.

She found his optics were bright again as they took her in. She almost wanted to laugh. Optimus was a sparkling! Pfft, only Optimus could get into such trouble.

"Initial scan indicates his cerebral processor is functioning like that of a two month old sparkling. So I doubt he remembers us. And he only recognizes you because of your spark bond." Ratchet smirked, "He probably thinks of you as a mother right now, not his sparkmate."

The 'M' word.

Elita shuddered. She hated that word. Perhaps if her own mother had been more of a role model Elita might not have fretted over the issue so much.

Soft whimpers pulled her from her inner thoughts. Ratchet was right. Optimus was picking up on her sad thoughts. Tears filled his optics and his bottom lip trembled.

"Oh hey, don't cry," she cooed, nuzzling his face with her nose and pushing aside any negative feelings within her spark. "Shh, see all better now."

"Pfft! And you said you would never be a good mother," Ratchet smiled. "You seem to be doing just fine."

"But I'm not a mother," she said worriedly. "Optimus is still my sparkmate."

"Well, until Wheeljack figures out how to change Optimus back you're going to have to play the role of mom to him."

Elita frowned. She made sure to keep her guilt to herself.

"I'm so sorry for the mess I caused," she sincerely said to Ratchet. "I hope I didn't injure anyone too badly."

"I'll live. So will the others. Besides, it was good to get everyone's spark rate going like that with no Decepticon activity lately. I'm sure even right now Ironhide and Chromia are off to their quarters for some _**alone**_ time. They love that kind of stuff, gets their interfaces system revving. Crazy fraggers!"

(_beep!_)

Optimus started wiggling around. He wanted down. He was feeling much better now that the pretty red femme wasn't mad anymore!

"What's he doing?"

"He just wants down," Ratchet answered. "All his systems are running normal now. Why don't you take him to your quarters and I'll drop by in a little while to see how you're doing."

* * *

Up Next: Elita and Optimus.


	14. Chapter 14

Hope those who celebrated had a wonderful 4th of July celebration. Now that the festivities are over, here's another sparkling cuteness chapter with Optimus and Elita.

a/n: _italics_ denote comlink chatter; (_italics_) in parenthesis denote sparkling noises.

* * *

_**Optimus and Elita's quarters **_

Elita had no idea what to expect from a sparkling. She'd seen what younglings were fully capable of. Bumblebee, Sunny, and Sides were terrors until they matured. And even then the twins were still a handful with the pranks they loved to pull. So if Elita knew what sparkling Optimus was fully capable of she would never have left the Med Bay.

"Here you go," she smiled, setting Optimus down on his feet.

Little legs buckled and Optimus fell on his aft.

"Oops," he huffed.

"Are you ok?" she asked, lift him up and putting him on his feet again. "Maybe you weren't ready."

Again, his legs buckled and he fell backwards. It didn't seem to bother him for he just sat there. But Elita was very worried.

"_Ratchet, something's wrong with Optimus' legs. He keeps falling over._"

"_That's because his legs aren't strong enough to walk yet. Just let him crawl around. He'll be fine._"

"Crawling is good," she smirked, thinking Optimus couldn't move around as well by crawling.

Only she was so wrong! An excited whistle was her only warning. Optimus hurried across the room and climbed up onto the desk. The neatly stacked datapads were scattered all over the desk in mere astroseconds.

Wow! What are these? Optimus held a datapad up, turning it over and tried to figure what it was. He started banging it on the desk and giggle.

"No, you can't play with those," Elita insisted.

(_squawk!!_)

"I'm sorry, these aren't toys," she said gently as she took the datapad from him.

She was a little surprised that she had to use some strength to remove the datapad from Optimus' hand. Oh and did he look pissed when she quickly shoved all of them in a drawer before he could grab another one.

This prompted Elita to take a good look around the room.

"_Ratchet, I don't think it's a good idea for Optimus to be in here. This room is far from sparkling proof!_"

"_You're just going to have to deal with it for now._"

"_But…_"

"_Elita, you've faced Decepticons on your own. You're fully capable of handling one little sparkling._"

Optimus dove off the desk before she could reply to Ratchet. Primus, she had no idea a sparkling could move so fast! The only reason why she knew Optimus was in the large washroom was from excited beeps and whistles.

When Elita walked in she found him in the large shower stall staring up at the faucet. He beeped harshly up at it making her giggle. Then he rattled off several chirps, warbles, and clicks at her with a very serious expression on his little faceplates.

This only made Elita laugh harder. She'd seen that look on his face before quite often, just on a more mature version of his self.

A long sorrowful whistle sounded as his head and shoulders drooped. She didn't understand him.

"I'm sorry, Optimus," she chuckled, picking him up. "You just looked so adorably annoyed. You want a shower that badly? Hmm? Shame, you never seem that eager as a mature mech unless I was inviting you to join me."

He chirped reaching for the faucet. It was almost in his reach. Only the pretty femme moved away.

"You seem clean already. But I don't see the harm in a bath," she said. "You're small enough to fit in the sink. Oh wait! Is it even ok for you to have a bath?"

(_beep?_)

"_Ratchet, this is Elita…_"

"_What now?_"

Elita cringed slightly at his harsh response. But she honestly didn't know what to do with sparklings. Being that this was Optimus she didn't want to take any chances in him getting hurt.

"_I was just wondering if I can give Optimus a bath_?"

"_Yes, it's fine! Ratchet out!_"

Optimus beeped at the pretty femme, gently touching her face. She instantly smiled rubbing her nose against his. He didn't understand what she was telling him but could feel she was happy.

"Here, you go," she smiled, setting him in the sink. "I'll turn it on slow…"

Whoa! Shrieks echoed off the wall loudly. Tiny arms and legs thrashed about. At first Elita thought Optimus didn't like the cleaning reagent coming out of the faucet so she turned it off.

However, she quickly learned she was wrong! Optimus started beeping insistently at the faucet and even growled at it, grabbing hold of it with his hands. Again she laughed at him.

The faucet was turned back on. And Elita soon realized that it was the bubbles the cleaning agent made that Optimus was fascinated with and not the actual cleaning process. Still, she did attempt to clean him up with a cleaning rag.

Attempt was the key word. Optimus was not a calm sparkling. He was noisy and always wiggling around. So much so that Elita decided to just let the suds he splashed, swatted, and batted around do the cleaning for her.

To be honest this little sparkling was the exact opposite of the mature mech Elita was so used to. Seeing this side of Optimus made her realize that there was so much about him she didn't really know about. She never asked about his younglinghood and he never volunteered any information.

Did he have a happy younglinghood? What about his parents? He never once mentioned them to her. She only knew that Ratchet and Ironhide were his guardians. But for how long, she did not know.

She did know that one thing remained constant throughout Optimus' life. He was a mech of deep feelings. Most of them held in check or hidden by his mask during the mature portion of his life. Being the leader and the one hope of a people's survival would have broken most mechs. But not Optimus. Never Optimus.

Yes, he took so much to spark when they suffered losses. Yet, at the same time he never forgot those lost, he honors them by continuing the fight for them. It's the same with her. He never takes their love for granted. He enjoys every precious moment with her and cherishes them always.

Elita sighed loudly then smiled when Optimus looked up at her. He had one of the happiest grins ever on his face plates with soap suds on top of his head. The love she felt from him and for him filled her completely.

"I think I finally understand why you want a sparkling so much, Optimus," she said, wiping the suds off his head. "It will give you something more of me to love."

The pretty femme was smiling at him. Only Optimus couldn't tell if she was happy or sad. He didn't want her to be sad. She was too pretty for that. So, he climbed out of the bubbles so he could get closer to her and wrapped his little arms around her neck.

"You always knew when I needed a hug," she grinned, holding him close as she rose to her feet. "Thank you, Optimus." She turned and grabbed a towel off the rack. "Now, why don't we get you dried off?"

For once, Optimus remained still on the recharge bed where he was sat down. He actually liked being doted over, especially by her. The pretty femme smiled at him as she talked. Plus, it felt nice as she gently rubbed the fluffy white thing on his armor. He giggled when she rubbed his belly. Then he trilled and purred loudly when she rubbed his antennas.

"I should have known," she chuckled. "Your audio receptors and antennas have always been so sensitive. Almost as much as your chest."

Elita gently poked his chest making him giggle hysterically. She did it again this time making him roll onto his back, feet in the air, laughing out of control. Optimus screeched loudly when she blew raspberries on the bottoms of his feet.

Ratchet, who had let himself in quietly when he heard the sounds of sparkling laughter, stood and watched, smiling. Optimus was right. If given the opportunity Elita was going to make a wonderful mother.

"Hmm, when do you recharge?" Elita asked out loud.

"Whenever he feels like it," Ratchet answered startling both her and Optimus.

"Ratchet, you stupid aft!" she exclaimed, jumping up. "You practically scared Optimus and me to death!"

"I was concerned," he smirked. "You've been quiet for the last thirty minutes on the comlink. Besides, I knew with Optimus being a sparkling there'd be no interfacing or spark bonding to walk in on."

"You'll do well to remember that I never miss a target twice," she growled, making Ratchet visibly flinch.

Optimus giggled. The big mech was afraid.

"I just brought this…for Optimus," Ratchet said nervously, holding out a bottle.

Elita sighed, getting to her feet. She had to remind herself to not overreact.

"I'm sorry, Ratchet," she said, moving across the room. "It's just still all so…much to take in."

"Optimus will be back to his old self soon enough. Wheeljack has never let Optimus down yet. So first thing tomorrow, he will be in his lab working on trying to fix Optimus."

"Tomorrow?" she replied, biting her bottom lip. "He was that badly damaged?"

"That was mostly Ironhide and my doing when we realized what he'd done to Optimus. We kind of…" he chuckled. "…overreacted."

While they were talking, Optimus was looking around the room. He'd only seen part of it. There was so much fun stuff! Oh…what's that?! He turned around, his optics locked on something that sparkled up high on top of a shelving unit. It was just a tiny shiny object that stuck out over the edge.

Optimus glanced over at the pretty femme. She was still talking with the mech. He didn't think about whether or not she'd be mad at him. He just wanted to know what the sparkly thing was!

It was the high pitched happy squeal that made Elita turn around. Her optics immediately landed on the now empty recharge bed. Another squeal and they shot over and up to find Optimus sitting on top of the shelving unit, his aft at the very edge and his back facing her.

Whatever it was it was fun! It made a funny sound as he shook it. He shook it again and giggled.

"Optimus!"

"Elita, it's ok," Ratchet said calmly, gently holding her arm. "Sparklings are very good climbers."

"How are they at falling?!" she countered wrenching her arm free.

"Be calm or he _**will**_ fall," the CMO insisted.

"I'm sorry," she replied, realizing she was overreacting again.

"See, you're already a good mother," he smirked. "Here, take the bottle. I'm more experience in extracting sparklings from dire situations."

"He won't just come down on his own?"

"Primus no!" he snorted, pulling a chair over so he could reach Optimus. "I've never seen a sparkling voluntarily climb down from anything unless they felt threatened and jumped down to escape! Bumblebee was notorious for climbing higher and higher each time we tried to get him when he was a sparkling. In fact, one time Jazz chased him for over an hour in the ventilation system of the base. And in the end it was Optimus that got Bumblebee to come to him. Optimus was Bee's favorite surrogate father."

"I remember that much when Bee was a youngling," she said. "He was jealous of me when Optimus and I first started dating. Each time Optimus and I tried to have a quiet moment alone in his quarters Bumblebee beat us to it by falling into recharge on Optimus' bed. What about Optimus? Did you know him when he was a sparkling?"

"Optimus was four, the late stages of sparklinghood, when Alpha Trion brought him to Sentinel."

Optimus shrieked loudly again as he giggled ending their conversation. Oh well, perhaps later Elita could ask more questions of Ratchet about Optimus.

(_**growling**_)

"Alright, Optimus. Be a good little mech. It's time to come...**OW**! Frag, he bites hard!" Ratchet grimaced.

(_**GROWLING**_)

"I've never had complaints," Elita couldn't resist saying, know what kind of reaction she'd get from Ratchet.

"For pits sake, that's information I _**didn't**_ need to hear about femme!" Ratchet screeched, pulling down Optimus. "What you and…**OW**…do in the confines of…**OW**! You little fragger!" he pried, Optimus' mouth off his hand and sighed in relief. "What you and Optimus do in the confines of your quarters is none of my business! Please refrain from sharing any information. Bad enough I hear about how loud you two are from Ironhide."

That's it! Optimus was tired of everyone taking everything away from him. He was not going to give up _**this**_ prize! His hand gripped onto it tightly and he started growling again.

Elita's optics widened at what Optimus had in his hands. She was gratefully Ratchet was more interested in checking out his bitten fingers then inspecting Optimus. She couldn't let the CMO see what Optimus was holding!

"**Whoa**!" she shouted, quickly pulling her hand back after Optimus growled and bit at her.

"Take if from me, you're not going to get it away from him without a fight," Ratchet snickered. "Now, let's see what he has that he doesn't want to give up."

"That's ok, I can handle it!" she blurted out.

"No, its best you let some one with experience do this part else you'll lose a finger."

"But I need to learn at some point!"

Ok, that was odd. Ratchet's never known Elita to sound desperate about anything. It's like she didn't want him to see what Optimus was holding. So of course, he looked to see what the sparkling had in his hands.

"Are those maximum security hand restraints?" he asked.

Elita said nothing but the embarrassing look on her face told him more than he wanted know!

"Here…take him!" Ratchet said, dropping the sparkling in her arms. Then he headed as fast as he could for the door. "My processor has been corrupted enough since coming in here! Primus almighty! I don't want to know what you and Optimus are doing with _**those**_!"

The door slid shut leaving Elita alone with Optimus again. He was very happy with his prize, shaking it and giggling.

"It's your reputation that's been ruined as well you know," she said to him.

(_squeal!)_

The restraints fell to the floor and the bottle was snatched from Elita's hand.

"Optimus! You couldn't have done that a few astroseconds earlier?" she asked with a heavy sigh.

Optimus just grinned at her while suckling on the bottle as fast as he could.

"You're so lucky you're a cute, adorable sparkling right now."

(_**BURP!**_)

Elita groaned loudly thinking about the all too familiar sound affects she's heard from her bonded mech over the years.

"Primus, please don't let the other end be as loud or as smelly," she prayed to the heavens above.

Optimus simply giggled and smiled at her.


	15. Chapter 15

Ok here's chapter 15. I wrote it then scrapped it then rewrote it! Second version is way better. I hope.

* * *

_**The Recreation Room Revisited**_

The rest of the morning had been peaceful. No shouting, no sparkling scampering across the floor causing havoc, no laser fire or dented crotch plates. Even the twins were antic-free and Ironhide actually kept his groping hands off his sparkmate as most everyone worked to repair the recreation room.

Ratchet was in the Med Bay keeping his optics on Wheeljack. The poor engineer was getting a much needed recharge that would allow his systems to recover from the morning's excitement. And Elita and Optimus were in their quarters recovering as well.

"I'm wondering if we should go check on Elita and see how she's doing," Jazz said hopefully, glancing over at Prowl who was actually relaxing for once with a small cup of high grade.

"I'm sure Elita is fine, Jazz," Prowl insisted. "Ratchet reported that she and Optimus were both doing well when he checked on them."

"Yeah, but that was a few hours ago!"

"Jazz, they're fine."

"I'm actually curious if Optimus will be in one piece," Ironhide snickered from across the large table they'd all gathered around. "Elita might get angry and give Optimus a spanking."

_Whack!_

"OWW!"

Chromia gave her mate a swift kick under the table and glared at him. Elita didn't need them making fun of her. She needed their support. And Chromia wasn't going to allow them to crack jokes when Elita wasn't here to defend herself.

"I was only joking," he grimaced.

"This is not a joking matter," Magnus spoke up, setting his empty glass of high grade down.

"Magnus is right," Prowl agreed, leaning forward with his arms on the table. "We should consider the possibility that Optimus might not be returned to his mature self."

"Oh, that would be so cool!" Sunny grinned. "I can just imagine baby boss bot trying to give us orders."

"Sunny, this isn't a game," Sides seriously said. "Optimus is our Prime, our leader. We need him."

"Ah come on! You have to admit he's cute and cuddly even if he does bite," Sunny pressed on.

"He's also very vulnerable if our base gets attacked," Bumblebee quickly pointed out. "I remember countless times how frightened the three of us were when the base was attacked back on Cybertron. It took everyone on the base to protect us from harm and to keep us away from seeing the horrors of war."

"Bumblebee is right," Ironhide sighed. "Each of you had a daily guardian, someone to watch you and keep you safe, who always knew where you were on the base. We couldn't risk losing any of you."

"And if my some chance that Wheeljack can't return Optimus to his old self, then it will fall to each of us to look after him and see that he grows up. Just like we did for you, Sunny," Magnus said.

"Well, if that's the case," Sunny smirked. "I think Ironhide and Chromia need to get sparking so Optimus has a playmate his own size!"

"Why you little…" Ironhide started then just jumped over the table tackling Sunny to the ground.

Bumblebee and Sides quickly grabbed their drinks and moved off to the side. Sunny was begging for an aft ripping and they were going to let him get one!

"Honestly, we have enough overgrown sparklings on the base as it is!" Chromia huffed. "I'm not sure I'd want to bring a little one into this environment."

That's what she said. Only she was aching to have a sparkling of her own. Once everything was all settled she was going to have that _**talk**_ with Ironhide even if she had to strap him down to keep him from running.

"Don't worry," Jazz whispered to her as he leaned closer. "I've known Ironhide a long time. He loves you more than his own cannons. He will eventually give in and give you what you want. He has a soft spot in his spark for little sparklings."

"Really?"

"Really. In fact, he was Sunny's favorite," Jazz smiled.

"WHAT?!" Sunny shrieked in disbelief, despite being stuck in a head lock.

"That's right, Sunny," Jazz smirked. "As much as you wanted attention all the time as a sparkling, whenever you were upset you only wanted Ironhide to hold you. Anyone else and it sounded like the universe was coming to an end. And you wouldn't stop crying until you were in his arms."

"That's a lie!" Sunny protested, looking absolutely mortified.

"No, it's not," Ironhide chuckled, tossing Sunny down to the ground. "You even cried more than your brother."

Both Bumblebee and Sides giggled hysterically over their cups of high grade.

"I wouldn't laugh if I were either of you," Magnus warned. "Sides, you were a constant visitor to the Med Bay getting your head, arm, leg, hand, whatever stuck in something you couldn't get out of. And you were the worst, Bee. If you got mad you had a tendency to lubricate on anyone and anything to express your displeasure."

"But he sure was cute following Optimus around like a little mechano-puppy," Jazz grinned.

"Hello everyone, mind if we join you?" Elita smiled from the doorway, a quiet sparkling in her arms looking curiously at everyone.

"One astrosecond, Elita," Prowl said getting to his feet. "No high grade while the sparkling is in here. Drink it or leave with it. Jazz, help get everyone's cups."

"Why is it so bad for sparklings to drink high grade?" Bumblebee asked, handing his empty cup to Jazz.

"They get painful system upsets and too much can be lethal," Magnus answered, handing Prowl his empty cup.

Prowl made sure the high grade canisters were locked up before inspecting the room. He didn't want to risk a repeat performance of earlier. Nor did he want to risk Optimus' life.

"Ok, Elita, it's safe for Optimus now."

"This is probably the safest room on the base," Elita sighed, sitting down. "Optimus is a little depressed because he has nothing to play with. He was all over the place in our quarters and in to everything. It was a race to keep things away and a fight to remove things from his hands."

"He hasn't recharged yet?" Ironhide asked, taking his seat beside Chromia.

"Pfft, I wish he would! I do have some work to do."

"We'll watch him!" Jazz quickly volunteered, almost leaping up and down.

Prowl rolled his optics and headed for the door.

"I've had enough excitement for one day. I'll be in the command center."

"Jazz, try not to drive Prowl crazy like the last time we had sparklings on the base," Ironhide said after Prowl left. "I don't think I can handle it again if he starts quoting rules and regulations on how to behave around sparklings."

"In fact, why don't you go with Prowl," Magnus ordered. "He and I have had our comlinks tied into Teletran for the past several hours. I could use the break and I'm sure he wouldn't mind the company."

Ironhide couldn't help but laugh at Jazz as he grumbled and sulked off.

"Ironhide, why don't you go check out storage and see if you can't find some toys for Optimus," Magnus suggested wiping that smirk right off Ironhide's face.

"Why me?"

"Because you always seem to know where to find them."

Ironhide noticed how the others covered their mouths, trying not to laugh. Even his sparkmate was giggling softly.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered as he got up. Everyone broke down laughing. Before leaving, he pointed a large finger at Optimus. "You owe me, Optimus!"

Optimus immediately started crying as the big angry black mech left.

"I had just got him to quiet down too," Elita moaned. "He'd been crying for nearly an hour!"

"It's ok, Optimus," Chromia smiled, rubbing his back. "I'll take care of mean old Ironhide for you, I promise."

"Ah! Does he have a mute button?" Sunny shouted, while covering his audio receptors.

Sides smacked his brother hard over the head.

"I apologize for my brother, Elita," Sides said. "Is there anything we can do?"

"I don't think so unless you can speak sparkling talk," she said, gently rocking Optimus. "He's frustrated. As am I. I don't know what he wants when he's crying."

"Well…I have something that might help," Bumblebee said a bit shyly.

Everyone looked curiously at him as he slowly approached Elita.

"This is kind of embarrassing," he smiled bashfully. "But…Optimus gave this to me and I had been saving it for the day I have my own sparkling. I don't see the harm in loaning to him for a little while."

Bumblebee pulled out a small toy bot. It was actually dwarfed by his large hands as he delicately set it down on the table near Elita but it was perfect for little hands of sparklings.

Of course, Sunny and Side fell out of their chairs laughing. They thought it was hilarious! Somehow Bee expected them to do that. But it didn't make him feel any better.

"Don't pay any attention to them," Chromia told him, helping him sit in the chair beside her. "You have a good spark."

"Yes, this is very sweet of you, Bee, thank you," Elita smiled, sitting Optimus up on the table. "Look, Optimus. It's for you."

Optimus looked at the toy for a brief second before then flopped over onto his face and just wailed as loud as he could. He didn't want to touch it if it was going to be taken away from him.

"Primus, make him shut up!" Sunny shrieked.

Magnus shot up to his feet. He had enough of Sunny's crap! So he marched over, grabbed Sunny by the audio receptor and dragged him out into the hall. Of course, Sunny whined the entire way. Everyone else ignored him, knowing he deserved whatever lecture Magnus had in store for him.

"Oh, Optimus, it's ok," Elita cooed, caressing his head. "You know, I have to give more respect to Optimus and the others for raising three sparklings. I honestly don't know how they did it."

"And to think Optimus still wants a sparkling even after all that too," Chromia added.

"Yes, I thought of that too," Elita smiled, lifting Optimus back up into her arms.

"Can I try something?" Bumblebee asked.

"I'm up for anything to help him stop crying. This is breaking my spark."

Bee quickly moved around the table so he could sit on the other side of Elita since Chromia was already on one side. He never liked it when Optimus was upset. Not even when Bumblebee was a youngling. He always took it upon himself to make Optimus smile. Hopefully, he could continue to do that now even if they're roles were reversed.

"Hi Optimus, remember me, Bumblebee?" he smiled, gently taking Optimus from Elita's arms and placing him on the table before him. Optimus choked and sobbed. "Why don't we play a game. Would you like that? I know…let's play…peek a boo!"

Both Elita and Chromia couldn't help but smile at how Bee interacted with a sparkling. He appeared to take to it quite naturally. And it was working for Optimus stopped crying and was staring intensely at Bee.

"Would you like to play peek-a-boo?"

"Here, Bee," Sides said, handing Bumblebee a small towel.

Optimus saw the towel and his little legs kick about excitedly. He knew what the yellow and black mech was going to do!

"Ka boo!" he grinned, pointing at the towel.

Elita literally eeped and covered her mouth! She couldn't believe Optimus could talk! The thought never occurred to her that he knew a few words.

"That's right, Optimus peek-a-boo," Bee smiled, handing him the towel. "Can you say peek-a-boo?"

"Come on Optimus, you can say it," Elita said encouragingly. "Come on…peek-a-boo."

Optimus stared intently at them for a minute as they kept repeating the word.

"Wait, let's see what he does!" Bee said when Optimus pulled the towel over his face.

The towel came down…his optics locked on to Elita…he smiled…and then…

"Pee ka boo!" Optimus shrieked then giggled wildly.

Elita could literally feel how happy he was. Finally, he was happy. Primus, she hated it when he was upset.

"That's a good little mech," she smiled at him, tickling his belly and feeling his love for her.

Optimus repeated his new little act for each of them. This time when Elita offered him to toy bot he happily took it, even playing peek-a-boo with it. He even greeted Magnus with a jovial peek-a-boo when the City Command returned with Sunny.

"I see you finally said it right," Magnus smiled, patting Optimus on the head. "Elita, I believe Sunny has something to say to you."

"I just wanted to apologize for being a…"

Magnus narrowed his optics when Sunny nervously glanced up at him.

"I want to apologize for being a stupid aft. I was rude, inconsiderate, and disrespectful to both you and Optimus. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted."

"Jeez, Magnus, can you straighten Ironhide out for me too?" Chromia asked as Sunny quietly returned to his seat next to his brother.

"I'm afraid it's too late for Ironhide," Magnus smirked. "Besides, you've whipped him into shape rather well over the years."

Chromia giggled. Oh yeah, figuratively and literally!

"I mean it, Elita!" Ironhide huffed as he just entered the room. "You'd better remind Optimus that he owes me once he's mature again." He set storage bin on the table and pulled the lid off. "Here you go Optimus. These should keep you happy enough for a while."

Magnus looked into the bin and was shocked. Where in the universe did Ironhide come up with that many toys?

"Don't say a word," Ironhide growled at him. Then he smiled, reaching in to pull out a toy. "Here, Optimus, this was always a favorite. The only toy to occupy three sparklings at once and keep them entertained for hours."

Optimus' optics widened! Oh wow! That toy looked like a lot of fun!

"A ball?" Elita asked.

"Ba!" Optimus shouted.

He quickly handed Elita the toy bot he was playing with then crawled over toward the black mech.

"Ba!" he shouted again, pointing at the ball.

"You want this, do ya?" Ironhide teased.

(_beep_)

Little arms reached up for it. Imploring blue optics looked up at Ironhide. The big mech was not going to cave so easily. Especially not in front of his sparkmate who was watching his every move like a hawk. Last thing Hide wanted to do was give Chromia more ammunition for her sparkling talk.

"I'll give it to you if you say ball."

"Ba!"

"No. Ba**ll**."

Optimus really wanted the ball. So he pulled a trick that worked on the big red, white and blue mech. Optimus stuck out his lower lip and started to whimper.

"Ironhide, you made him cry…again!" Chromia chided him, yanking the ball from his hands. "Here you go Optimus."

(_**WHISTLE!**_)

The ball, which was almost too big for Optimus to hold, rolled out off of his lap. Of course, he gave chase twittering and chirping. And everyone just sat and watched as the sparkling was having a rip roaring good time rolling the ball and chasing after it.

"Slag! Get him!" Ironhide shouted when the ball rolled toward the far end of the table were no one was sitting with Optimus giving chase.

They were too late! The ball rolled off. The sparkling did a somersault off the end of the table and landed with a hard crash.

No one moved as they waited for the wailing to start.

Only it didn't.

There was an 'oops', followed by a grunt as a chair moved, and then a hysterical squeal of happiness. And when they all looked under the table, there was Optimus hugging the ball and smiling, his little blue optics full of mischief when he looked back at them all.

Optimus falling off the table prompted Magnus and Ironhide to make a safe area to play. And play they all did. So, by the time Ratchet meandered in to see what all the laughing and shrieking was about, everyone, including Jazz and Prowl, were sitting on the floor in a circle rolling the ball around for Optimus to chase. All the tables and chairs had been neatly stacked on one side of the room.

"Optimus hasn't recharged yet?" Ratchet asked seeing a very hyper sparkling roll off the ball and giggle with his feet in the air.

"Nope, unless you count the thirty second power recharge he took over an hour ago," Ironhide answered.

"Ah, well, that means he'll be…" Ratchet started then paused when Optimus yawned wide and rubbed his optics. "Yup, he'll be falling into recharge any moment now."

"Should I take him to our quarters?" Elita asked worriedly.

"No, its best to let them fall into recharge where they're at when they've been playing for a while," Ratchet answered.

"Yeah, if you move him now he might get all hyper again," Ironhide added.

Optimus shook his head. He wanted to play. But it was getting very hard to keep his optics online. He quickly crawled of to Lita, the name she told him to call her.

(_beep?_)

"Oh, you want your toy," she smiled then handed him the toy bot Bumblebee had given him. "There you go. He really likes it. Thank you Bumblebee."

"You're welcome."

"Shh, I think he's finally falling into recharge," Jazz whispered.

Every optic in the room watched close as Optimus' optics started to dim. His head shakes turned into a head bobs. Until finally, he gave in to recharge with his toy secure in one arm, his knees tucked under him, his head on the floor, and his aft in the air.

A collective, but quiet, aw sounded from every mech and femme in the room.


	16. Chapter 16

This wasn't what I intended for chapter 16. But I couldn't help but toss in some more Optimus sparkling moments. Hope you like them.

* * *

_**Morning Autobot base**_

Elita emerged from recharge like she did yesterday morning feeling a bit cold because one side of the bed was vacant. Six months back and she'd already gotten used to waking against the warm and comforting form of her sparkmate. She silently prayed that Wheeljack was going to be able to return Optimus to his old self.

She really missed her sparkmate.

She _**needed**_ to apologize to him so badly for each time she got mad at him for bringing up the sparkling issue. Elita may be stubborn, but she knows when she's made a mistake and she's not afraid to admit it. And she knows she made a big one by denying Optimus and herself the happiness a sparkling can bring.

Soft short warbling captured her attention making her smile. Only her smile quickly faded as panic and fear filled her spark. Optimus started crying. She could feel how afraid and confused he was.

Wasting no time, Elita commanded the lights to come on as she hurried across the room. Optimus was sitting in the recharge crib huge tears streaming down his silver face plates, crying his optics out.

"I'm sorry, Optimus," she cooed, lifting him up. She could feel him trembling. "Are you afraid of the dark?"

Optimus grabbed what he could of her armor pulling himself closer, nuzzling his face against her. Her warmth was so comforting it started to make him feel better. He didn't like the dark! Her love and reassurance resonated within, calming him down.

"Feeling better now?" she asked, gently wiping the last of his tears away.

He sighed, laying his head on her shoulder, blinking his optic covers slowly as he stared at her. Yes, he was feeling much better now.

"Time to start our day then if you're up now," she smiled and headed for the door.

"BOT!" Optimus shouted in a panic reaching back towards the recharge crib.

"Oops, sorry, my bad," she apologized quickly retrieving the toy bot.

It was one happy sparkling warbling and twittering away at his toy bot as Elita headed towards the Med Bay. And one happy femme enjoying every moment of it.

Ratchet had been expecting Elita to bring Optimus by first thing in the morning. Since they still don't know exactly how he was transformed into a sparkling his systems needed to be monitored regularly for any changes or fluctuations.

"Good morning, Elita. How was your evening?"

"He didn't wake from recharge once. I found out Optimus is afraid of the dark."

"That's common for sparklings," he smiled taking Optimus and setting him on the exam table.

The sparkling didn't mind as he was talking in his own way to the toy in his hands. He didn't even pay any attention to the medic's hands as he was being thoroughly examined.

"Where are the empty bottles? I want to go make him his breakfast. I need the practice," she said, caressing Optimus' back.

Ratchet raised an optic ridge at her. Was she serious?

"Yes, you heard me right," she smiled happily. "Once Optimus is his old self again I'm going to apologize to him. Then hopefully, if he agrees, we'll get to work making our own sparkling."

"It's about time," Ratchet harrumphed.

"I know, I know."

"Well, I left the empty bottles in the recreation room in the energon storage cabinets. Just let me know if you have any questions. Or ask Magnus. He's usually in there this time of morning. He knows how to prep energon bottles for sparklings. I'll bring the little lugnut in a few minutes."

Optimus had been busy playing with his toy bot, making it bounce up and down, having fun as the two mature bots talked. But then he noticed Lita was leaving without him and he got worried.

"LITA!" he called, trying to get down and go after her.

Ratchet managed to grab hold of Optimus before he took a header. And of course, Elita came back to reassure Optimus everything was ok. The entire time, Ratchet just smirked at her. Oh yeah, she wasn't going to be a good mother. Pfft! She was a natural once she got going.

"Ratchet will take good care of you, I promise," she said, her tone calm and happy, caressing Optimus' face. "And if he doesn't, the next time I shoot him in the crotchet I won't miss."

Optimus couldn't understand what she said but she sounded so pleasant he just had to laugh.

"That's no laughing matter, Optimus," Ratchet grumbled.

Optimus giggled some more up at him.

"Try to teach him your name," Elita ordered as she turned to leave. "He learned everyone elses yesterday."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Optimus giggled at Ratchet again.

"You know Optimus, I wouldn't laugh if I were you," Ratchet said after Elita left, putting his face right in front of Optimus'. "She orders you around that way too, you just don't remember."

The mech didn't seem very happy so Optimus reached out and hugged him. The old CMO didn't know what do to as he was caught off guard by the sudden affection from a sparkling.

A deep hearty laugh erupted from across the room. Ratchet quickly pried Optimus off his face and stood up straight, scowling at the visitors.

Ironhide couldn't help it! It was too funny seeing such a little thing hugging Ratchet's face.

_WHACK!_

"OWW! Chromia!" he whined, rubbing his aft.

"There's nothing funny about this. Ratchet, that was very kind of you to allow Optimus to give you a hug. Optimus is absolutely adorable."

"Well, they're only adorable some of the time," Ironhide told her. "There's the lubricating, the puking, the smells, the crying in the middle of the night. Trust me, you don't want a sparkling."

Chromia narrowed her optics, growled then stormed off.

"Now who's laughing," Ratchet snickered. "That means no interfacing for you for what…a week?"

"Shut up!" Ironhide barked then marched off after his sparkmate.

"You see that Optimus. Always stay on your femme's good side."

Optimus giggled, he thought it was so funny that the way the big mechs acted. Then he giggled even hard as the yellowish mech tickled his belly. He quickly learned the mech's name was Ratch and was rewarded for saying it.

"Ratch!"

"Oh, you liked that didn't you?" he smiled, patting Optimus on the head. "Ok, one more isn't going to ruin your appetite." This time Ratchet handed the treat to Optimus and watched as his eager tiny hand shoved it into his mouth. "Don't tell Elita I gave you an energon sweet. Ok?"

The medical diagnostic beeped signally it was done. So far so good. Optimus is functioning properly like a normal sparkling.

"Let's go, Optimus. Time for your breakfast before you get cranky."

Along the way to the recreation room, Ratchet heard Chromia really laying into Ironhide somewhere in the halls. The couple was being so loud Ratchet was sure the entire base heard them.

"And that's why I stay single," he commented to Optimus.

Upon arriving in the recreation room, Optimus started wiggling excitedly in Ratchet's arms. He didn't hesitate to set Optimus on the floor knowing he'd just start crying if he wasn't let loose. The room still had a clear area for him to play. No tables were available; they were still stacked on top of each other. So Magnus and Elita were sitting on a couch talking.

Optimus crawled over as fast as he could then climbed up onto Magnus' lap.

"Mags!" he beamed proudly, poking the big mech in the chest.

"You remembered," Magnus smiled.

"Sparkling's aren't idiots," Ratchet said. "They absorb anything and everything into their little processors. Everything's fine with him Elita. Please, call me if there are any changes."

"Of course," she smiled as Optimus climbed across the couch onto her lap and reached for the bottle.

"Well, if you'll excuse me I'm going to check on Wheeljack. He left the Med Bay last night so I assume he was working in his lab most of the night."

"Go easy on him, Ratchet," Elita said, handing Optimus the bottle.

The bottle was greedily suckled as someone's little tank was gurgling loudly.

"I will. Remember, only two bottles. If he's still hungry wait awhile before giving him a third," the CMO said as he was going out the door.

"Hey, slow down there."

Optimus grunted pushing her hand away while managing to keep the bottle in his mouth.

"It will be alright, Elita. He'll slow down for the second bottle."

"You know a lot about sparklings."

"Well, raising three wasn't easy for us mechs. We kind of learned on the fly. We had to. Three little lives depended on us. And soon, you'll be an expert too. I'm glad you've decided to have a sparkling with Optimus. You're going to make him one happy mech."

"I actually can't wait," she beamed.

"Uh oh," Magnus exclaimed upon hearing the all too familiar sound of a sparkling sucking on an empty bottle.

Uh oh indeed. Optimus didn't hesitate to express his displeasure.

"Magnus, can you get me the other bottle, I left it in the cabinet," she said, cradling Optimus as he wailed loudly. "Shh, it's ok. See, Mags is getting your bottle."

The bottle was quickly retrieved and silence filled the room once Optimus' mouth latched onto it. As Magnus had informed her, this bottle was being ingested at a much slower rate. Elita watched as little optic covers slowly closed. Small hands balled up and were held against a tiny chest. Soft purring sounded. And one content sparkling felling into recharge suckling his bottle.

"Do I let him keep drinking?"

"Yeah, he'll wake from recharge if you take it away too soon," Magnus warned. "He won't recharge very long. And he'll be fully energized and ready to go once he wakes."

"Morning everyone!" Bumblebee greeted as he came in. Then spotted a recharging sparkling and lowered his voice. "Oh, sorry…morning."

"Morning, Bee," Elita whispered, not taking her optics of Optimus.

He'd stopped suckling on the bottle. So she slowly pulled it away and her spark instantly melted. Optimus continued recharging with his mouth slightly open. No one spoke but just watched. A few minutes later, one little hand rubbed a cute nose then grabbed onto whatever piece of armor on Elita it could latch onto.

"Elita, are you crying?" Bumblebee suddenly asked.

"I'm sorry…it's just so overwhelming at times," she smiled. "He doesn't hold back his love at all."

And just like that, the quiet moment was over!

Optic covers popped open. Bright mischievous blue orbs looked around. And a fully energized sparkling wiggled to get down. Elita laughed. She couldn't help it. She was learning how quickly things change with a sparkling.

"There you go," she said putting him on the floor.

"BEEEE!!" Optimus cheered excitedly.

Bumblebee didn't even have time to squat down to greet Optimus. The little bot climbed up the mech's frame and greeted him with a hug around the neck.

"Thank you, Optimus. That was very kind of you," Bee smiled, hugging the little mech back.

"I think you're his favorite," Elita chuckled.

"I am?"

"Yes, that's exactly how you acted when you spotted Optimus first thing in the morning," Magnus replied. "Except, you couldn't get his name right and called him Oppy."

Elita burst out laughing. She never heard that nick name for her sparkmate before.

"He was teased relentlessly about it too from the rest of us," Magnus continued, laughing. "Even Prowl got in on the fun, putting Oppy up at the top of the reports he turned in to Optimus."

Optimus clapped and giggled. He didn't know why they were laughing but he figured something was funny.

"Well, I need to start my shift," Magnus said, as the laughter died down. He moved and patted Optimus on the head. "Be a good little mech today. See you all later."

"Later Magnus," Bee and Elita said as the City Commander walked out the door.

"Bee, do you think you can watch Optimus for a few hours?" Elita asked, getting to her feet and moving towards him. "I need to shower and get some work done. I was afraid to leave him alone yesterday in our quarters."

"I would love to," Bee smiled.

Before Elita could respond, Jazz came moping in and headed for the energon supplies. That was highly unusual as Jazz was always so upbeat and jovial, even early in the morning. Only Bumblebee over heard Prowl yelling at Jazz last night and knew that was part of the reason. He also knew that Prowl recharged in his office and left Jazz alone in their quarters. Also, another reason for Jazz being sad.

"Hey Optimus, I think Jazz needs a hug," he whispered to the sparkling.

(_beep?_)

"Go on, go give him a big hug," he said quietly, putting Optimus on the floor.

The one called Jazz did look unhappy. Optimus didn't like it when everyone was sad. So he did what Bumblebee told him.

Jazz, who was in a slightly depressed mood didn't notice the others, until something grabbed hold of his leg. He looked down to see Optimus hugging him and he just smiled, feeling infinitely better.

"Elita, I think Jazz should get the chance to sparkling sit for a while," Bumblebee whispered to her. "He's been dying to hold Optimus and hasn't had much of a chance. Plus, it will make him feel better."

Elita grinned, patting Bee on the back. He had such a kind and generous spark.

"Jazz, how do you feel about some sparkling duty?" Elita asked the silver mech as she marched over and plucked Optimus off the floor. "Just for a few hours so I can take care of a few things."

"Why I'd love to!" he exclaimed, sounding like his normal self.

"Good, he's all yours," she said, placing Optimus in Jazz's waiting arms. "And if Prowl gives you any grief about it, just tell him he can deal with me."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

So, with a twittering sparkling in one arm and the storage bin of toys in the other, it was a happy Jazz that strolled through the halls to his and Prowl's quarters. They were safe for sparklings. They were neat, tidy, and weapons free.

"There you go, Optimus," Jazz grinned setting the sparkling down.

Of course, it was a new room and Optimus had to explore it. He just had to! With Jazz as his shadow he crawled everywhere he could. Occasionally he'd glance back to see the sliver mech crawling after him. They'd exchange grins then continue on.

Unknown to either of them, Prowl had returned to his quarters to retrieve a datapad he left on his desk. There, leaning against the doorway, the black and white mech quietly watched his bonded crawl around, chasing a giggling and shrieking sparkling.

"I'm gonna get you!"

(_**GIGGLES!**_)

"I got you now!" Jazz laughed, grabbing hold of Optimus foot and gently dragged him closer to tickly his belly.

Giggles, shrieks, whistles…sparkling mayhem erupted.

Prowl sighed contently. His bonded was so adorable playing with a sparkling.

Jazz turned when he felt the loving warmth of Prowl fill him.

"How long have you been standing there?" Jazz asked, rising to his feet.

"Long enough," Prowl smiled, pushing away from the doorway.

Optimus rolled over onto his hands and knees. It was on to the next thing while the mechs talked! He crawled over to the bin and pulled the lid off. It took some effort, but he managed to pull himself up onto his feet, cling to the rim of the bin. Oh wow! He'd never seen so many toys!

(_trilling!_)

Prowl and Jazz glanced down to see Optimus looking in the toy bin. Seeing he was occupied they focused back on each other.

"I'm sorry, Jazz," Prowl sighed, caressing his sparkmate's face. "I try not to get too mad at you. It's just sometimes I expect more from you since you're my mate. I know I shouldn't. You're responsible and never would do anything to endanger yourself or others."

"You just worry too much about me, that's all," Jazz smiled back affectionately. "It's my fault too. I know I shouldn't do things behind your back. Some times I just can't help myself. Bee and the twins are a bad influence on me."

Prowl raised an optic ridge at him.

"Ok," Jazz laughed. "So they learned from me and I need to show some restraint when I'm with them."

Optimus' muffled cries suddenly interrupted them. They both turned to see two little feet up in the air, kicking.

"Ah, he's so cute even when he's in distress!" Jazz cooed staring down at an upside down Optimus stuck in the toy bin.

"Honestly Optimus, how do you always get yourself in these situations?!" Prowl chuckled, rescuing the sparkling.


	17. Chapter 17

Finally back to Wheeljack to see how he's recovered. Sorry, it's a necessary chapter for the story. Optimus does make an appearance; he and Elita drop by and visit. But this is mainly all Wheeljack as he works hard to make things right. Don't worry, there will be more sparkling Optimus to come in the next chapter.

* * *

_**Wheeljack's Lab**_

"Why do I always find myself in these situations?" Wheeljack asked himself as he poured over the diagnostic data for the first time.

Ever since he could remember some project or invention he was working on blew up in his face figuratively and literally. He quit counting long ago the number of Med Bay visits. He was just thankful when he regained consciousness or that he didn't blow anything vital off that couldn't be reattached.

Only ever since he became Optimus' top engineer Prime has been a victim of a number of Wheeljack's inventions. Probably because Optimus was curious about many of Wheeljack's inventions, having faith that one of them might help their cause in the fight against the Decepticons. A few have. Most were total failures. And still, Optimus was always there to support his engineer and friend.

"Jack! I told you to stay in the Med Bay until morning!" Ratchet barked the astrosecond he walked through the door.

"I couldn't stay! I have to figure out how to fix Optimus."

Ratchet sighed, rubbing his forehead. He reminded himself to take it easy on Wheeljack. The poor mech means well. He just always seems to have the worst of luck at times.

"How long have you been up?"

"Only a couple of hours. I finished the diagnostic. It will take me a couple of hours to analyze the data."

"Very well. I'll stop by later this afternoon to check on you."

"Ratchet, how's Optimus?"

"A perfectly healthy _**and**_ happy sparkling," Ratchet smiled. "Everyone's enjoying having a sparkling on the base. And Elita has decided to put Optimus out of his misery. Once we get Optimus back she's gonna tell him she wants a sparkling. So stop beating yourself up. Something good has come from this accident."

Wheeljack smiled, feeling a bit relieved to hear everything is well. It's probably the first time ever one of his accidents had a positive result.

"Drink some energon," Ratchet ordered as he headed for the door. "I don't want to come back and find you passed out on your work table."

Energon was a good idea. Jack was feeling a bit low on energy. Thankfully he had a small supply in his lab for those occasions he'd work days at a time. So he didn't have to make the trek to the recreation room.

With a cup of energon he engrossed himself with the data with his usual curiosity and enthusiasm. There was also a sense of urgency while at the same time he had to be meticulous and not miss anything. This wasn't just any mech he had to fix, it was Optimus Prime!

And like on many occasions, Wheeljack's processor was so involved with what he was doing he never heard the door buzzer. Nor did he hear his lab door open. He didn't even notice the heavy footfalls as Ultra Magnus walked across the lab.

"How's everything going?" the City Commander, peering over the inventor's shoulder at the computer monitor of data.

"AHH!!" Wheeljack screamed, his spark raced.

"Sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to startle you," Magnus chuckled, patting the mech on the back.

"Frag it to pit, Magnus! You nearly gave me a spark attack!"

"Sorry," Magnus repeated. "I just came to see how you were coming along with analyzing the data. I spoke to Ratchet a short time ago."

Jack did a quick check of his internal chronometer. About three hours had passed since Ratchet left. Primus, it felt longer with all the data he had to sort out.

"Basically, I've been able to ascertain that the devise is some concocted version for a fountain of youth," Jack explained.

"Really? Can this process be reversed?"

"The machine only has one function. But I have a few theories on reversing the process. It's just going to take me some time to test them."

"In other words, get the frag out and leave you to it," Magnus smiled.

"Well, I'd never put it like that."

"No worries, Jack," Magnus laughed. "I've got rounds to do. Let me or Prowl know the moment you have something. We're in charge until baby boss bot is returned to normal."

"Baby boss bot?"

"That's what Sunny calls Optimus. That reminds me. Have you seen the twins?"

"No," Wheeljack answered honestly.

"Thanks, I'll have Bumblebee look for them. He always knows what trouble they're getting themselves into."

Wheeljack chuckled to himself as Magnus left. He neglected to tell Magnus the twins had passed by his lab earlier in the morning just before Ratchet turned up. The young mechs were laughing their fool heads off as they headed off to go racing. It wasn't the first time they'd done that. And no matter how many times they've gotten in trouble for it, it won't be the last.

"Wheeljack, is it ok if we come in?" a voice sounded a few astroseconds after Magnus left.

"Elita, of course," he smiled, getting up from his desk to greet her and Optimus. "Hi Optimus, remember me."

Optimus giggled excitedly reaching for the white mech.

"I guess he does," Elita laughed, gladly handing Optimus over to Wheeljack. "Becareful, he just had a short nap so he might be full of it. I guess Jazz wore him out a bit with all the playing they did. I'd walked in to find Optimus passed out on the floor on top of the toys he'd been playing with."

"I remember those days," he said, setting Optimus on the work table. The first thing the little mech did was grab the wrench and started banging it. "They'd play for hours. Pass out on the spot. Wake up, eat then play for hours again. Recharge all night then start the entire routine all over again the next day."

Seeing Optimus on the table banging the wrench suddenly reminded Elita of what happened yesterday morning.

"Primus, Jack!" she chided, gently slapping him. "You put Optimus in a storage bin to hide him from me!"

"I panicked! I was terrified of what you and everyone else would do once it was out that I turned Optimus into a sparkling."

Elita sighed, "I'm sorry for getting so mad at you. I overreacted…badly. My only excuse is that I love him too much."

"No harm done," he smiled. "Dents can be repaired much easier than matters of the spark. I'm just glad Optimus wasn't damaged."

"Come on, Optimus," she said, picking him up. "Time to go so Jack can get back to work."

"Bye Optimus," Jack waved.

"Can you say bye to Jack?" she asked.

Optimus looked at Lita then to the white mech. Then back to Lita.

"It's ok Elita. He doesn't have to say anything to me."

"I should thank you though. Because of this situation, my optics have really been opened. I'm looking forward to having a sparkling with Optimus now."

"Well, I'm glad I could help. I just wish it'd been a different way."

"Whatever, stop kicking yourself in the aft. If you're up for a break later, Optimus will be in the recreation room just before evening for play time with everyone. You're more than welcome to join us."

"I'd like that. Thank you. See you later, Optimus."

"Bye Jack!" he smiled back, waving his little hand.

"Oh, you're such a good little mech," Elita cooed, nuzzling her nose against the side of Optimus head.

Optimus returned the jester rubbing his nose against hers as they walked out the door, making Wheeljack smile. Optimus was right, she was a wonderful mother.

The sound of a laughing sparkling faded quickly after the door shut. Silence filled the lab again and Wheeljack didn't hesitate to get back to work. He worked long and hard, forgetting about the time. He never made it the recreation room, never noticed that Ratchet came by to check on him. He didn't even hear Prowl and Magnus shouting and chasing after the twins in the hallway outside his lab door!

He was focused, spending hours programming the computer, running simulations, getting fail results. Then he'd repeat the process with a new program but get the same results. Over and over. Fail. Fail. Fail!

"Frag!" he growled when the computer beeped at him signally another failed simulation.

"Maybe you should recharge," Prowl's voice sounded from the doorway.

"I know," Wheeljack groaned, rubbing his tired optics.

"It's past midnight. Get some rest my friend. The answers will eventually come to you."

"Yeah…" he yawned. "Recharge sounds like a good idea right now."

"Is this the device?" Prowl asked moving towards the machine in the middle of the room.

It didn't look like much to Prowl. But then again, he wasn't an engineer. He was a soldier. If it wasn't a weapon it didn't interest him much.

"Unfortunately," Jack sighed, getting to his feet.

The tire engineer dragged himself over to his lab table where he climbed up and got comfortable.

"It's on," Prowl mentioned, reaching for the green button that was flashing.

"No, it's not. That light's a standby button. If you push it, it activates the device."

"Oh," Prowl said, quickly pulling his hand back.

He had no desire to be a sparkling. Although Jazz would probably fritz from being overjoyed if he got to take care of a sparkling Prowl for a while!

"Jack, come on, I'll take you to your quarters so you can get a proper recharge."

"I'm fine," he yawned, taking his optics offline. "I've recharged lots of times on my lab table. Besides, I frequently wake in the middle of the night with ideas in my processor. If I wake tonight, it might be the one to fix Optimus and I'd rather be in my lab."

"Very well. See you in the morning, Jack."

"Night."

Prowl dimmed the lights to a soft glow just before leaving the lab. In the past, when there were younglings on the base Prowl used to make sure that all lab doors were securely locked. He hasn't had to do that in a long time and didn't see the need to.

Of course, if he had locked the door, Ironhide wouldn't have been able to just march right into Wheeljack's lab a few minutes after Prowl left. It was the first chance all day Ironhide had to come down to the lab.

Chromia had been relentless in making her case about wanting a sparkling. The more time Optimus was as a sparkling the worse she was getting. Ironhide wanted it to end and end now!

He had enough of sparklings with the three he helped raise. It was true how everyone on the base helped to raise them. However, when it came to evening and recharge time Ironhide always ended up with one of them or two of them. Bee was the most rambunctious; it took forever to get him into recharge. Sunny and Sides were inseparable and cried until they fell into recharge.

"Frag it, Jack! Of all the times not to pull an all nighter!" he grumbled as he stood beside the lab table where Wheeljack was in deep recharge.

Defeated and knowing he was going to have to deal with Chromia on his case again tomorrow, Ironhide turned to leave. But in the dim lighting a small green flashing light caught his attention.

He walked over towards it.

His instinct was to reach and turn it off. Only this was Wheeljack's lab. Pushing buttons wasn't always a good thing. Bad things tend to happen. On the other hand, Wheeljack had a tendency to fall into recharge leaving some piece of equipment on. And again, bad things tend to happen.

Ironhide's hand hovered near the green flashing button as he debated. To push or not to push.

And during an indecisive moment…Ironhide pushed the button.


	18. Chapter 18

Psionic Star had requested a sparkling Ironhide story. I honestly didn't think I could have pulled of another sparkling story. But her request gave me a wicked idea for a sparkling Ironhide in this story.

So, in that same video on youtube, Baby Transformers, there was a picture of a baby Ironhide, baby Bumblebee, and a baby Blackout. All three where literally plugged into a power strip and recharging. If you've seen it, keep that image of baby Ironhide sleeping in your mind as this chapter starts. If you haven't, I suggest you do! It's so cute!

* * *

_**Early Morning Wheeljack's lab**_

Wheeljack stretched and yawned as he came out of recharge. Optic covers blinked lazily as his processor slowly fired up its circuits. He groaned, sliding off the table and grabbed his head. He overworked his processor a bit yesterday. It was still buzzing. Even the dim lights were bugging his optics.

All would be well once Jack got some warm energon into his tank. It always took him a while to get going first thing in the morning. Again, thankfully he only had to drag himself a short distance for some energon while commanding the lights to turn up to full power.

Wheeljack suddenly stopped.

Something on the floor caught his attention. Optic covers blinked rapidly, his processor was no longer groggy and was buzzing quite loudly in his audio receptors.

On the floor, in front of the alien device no less, recharging or passed out, sprawled out lying flat on his back, arms propped up by oversized cannons, with his mouth wide open was Ironhide. Downsized to a mini, black wrecking ball of a…frag it all the way to vector sigma…sparkling mech!

"Oh no…not again," Wheeljack's voice quivered.

Ow.

His aft was hurting already in anticipation of Chromia shooting at it from point blank range.

Hang on! It wasn't his fault this time!

Oh wait. That's not going matter to Chromia. She shoots first then if you're still alive considers asking a question before she shoots again to make sure you're dead!

"Why prolong my death," he muttered out loud. "_Ratchet, Prowl, Magnus…can you come to my lab please? There's been a new…development._"

"_Did you figure it out?_" Prowl asked quickly.

"_Just…just get down here as fast as you can, Wheeljack out._"

The three mechs arrived outside the door to Wheeljack's lab knowing something was wrong. Ever since they've known Jack he's always been hyper when he finds a solution and is anxious to share it with anyone and everyone who'll listen to him. The mech that called them a few minutes ago was not hyper, nor did he sound the least bit excited.

No, he sounded like a dead mech walking.

And when they walk into the lab they immediately knew why.

"What the frag?" Magnus exclaimed, staring in disbelief.

"Are those cannons active?" Prowl asked.

"Jack, what the frag did you do?!" Ratchet yelled ready to beat the slag out of him…again!

"I didn't do anything!" Wheeljack quickly said as Ratchet was storming towards him. "I fell into recharge as Prowl left and woke up and there was Ironhide on the floor!"

"He's correct, Ratchet," Prowl said, moving to stop the CMO. "Wheeljack was recharging. I had passed by Ironhide in the hall. He said he wanted to do a weapons inventory because Chromia was giving him a headache. Counting weapons always makes him feel better."

"It's his second love, his first being interfacing with Chromia," Ratchet snorted.

"So who tells her?" Wheeljack asked nervously, praying to Primus he didn't have to do fess up this time. Last time was going to give him nightmares for weeks!

"I will," Prowl answered. "Chromia as never attacked me when I've given her bad news about Ironhide. I should have been the one to tell Elita but…well, we all know how that turned out. I'll be back in ten minutes with Chromia."

"Plenty of time to remove those cannons. Come on Jack, lets get to it," Ratchet suggested. "No sparkling can heft those things around even if there are significantly smaller."

"Right," Jack replied, quickly gathering up the necessary tools as Prowl left.

"Make sure they're deactivated first," Magnus ordered. "The last thing we need is one of you getting your head blown off while trying to remove them."

"I'm sure they're inactive," Ratchet chuckled confidently as he beside of Ironhide, his nimble fingers started examining where it would be best to detach the weapon. "I doubt a sparkling has enough energy to shoot them anyway."

Ironhide's left arm twitched and the cannon attached to it discharged!

"WHOA!" Ratchet yelped, feeling the heat of the blast shoot past head.

That was too close!

"Don't say a word," Ratchet growled, pointing a wrench at Magnus.

With sheer will power, Magnus refrained from laughing. He wanted to though! That was priceless. He and Optimus had waited a long time to see the know-it-all smirk wiped off Ratchet's face. A shame Optimus wasn't here to see it but Magnus was definitely going to tell his best friend about it when he was returned back to normal!

"I think that was it," Ratchet said, running his scans. "His energy levels are too low…"

The right arm twitched and a grenade shot up at the ceiling shattering a light fixture.

"Frag!"

"Just hurry up and remove them before he actually damages something important!" Magnus ordered Ratchet.

With a surgeon's skill, speed, and the fact that Ironhide could still make a fool of him, Ratchet removed the cannons without further incident. Wheeljack made sure they were fully deactivated before storing them in a safe place.

"Primus, he's heavy even as a sparkling!" Ratchet exclaimed as he lifted Ironhide up off the floor.

"Give him to me," Magnus suggested, with his arms out. "Chromia will be less violent if I'm holding him. Femmes see you and they just can't help but shoot at you."

Ratchet was right. Ironhide was a slaggin heavy sparkling! And Magnus was no whimp!

"Well, look at the bright side," Wheeljack smiled. "Optimus will have a playmate for a while."

"_Be ready for anything!_" Prowl's voice suddenly sounded over their internal communicators.

"_How did she take it?_" Magnus asked.

"_I don't know. She just told me she wanted to see him. I can't tell if she's mad or not._"

Frag, that was not good! Prowl was very perceptive. For him to not be able to judge Chromia's over all mood was one tactical disadvantage they couldn't afford right now!

The lab doors suddenly opened all too quickly.

Wheeljack immediately started back pedaling, looking for an escape route, as Chromia and Prowl entered the lab. He stumbled over a storage bin and scrambled to get to his feet and tried to hide in a corner.

Ratchet was torn between saving his friend and saving his own interface appliance. He honestly didn't think he could take another shot there ever again! That was the most painful experience of his life. And didn't wish to experience it again…ever.

Magnus was perhaps the calmest mech in the room, except for the recharging sparkling. He stood tall, unafraid. A mech ready to spring into action if necessary. And he could do it too. His reflexes were as fast as Optimus.

Prowl, who'd made a quick stop in the med bay before confronting Chromia, had a sedative just in case they needed to subdue the gun-toting, trigger happy, wild and crazy femme. He made sure to stay as close to Chromia as he could.

Silence filled the room except for the soft humming of the lights above.

Chromia's optics were locked on her sparkmate.

The mech's optics were locked on her. Watching. Waiting. Wondering.

The pawns were set.

Now it was simply time for the femme to make her move.

* * *

a/n: Oh I know! Go ahead, throw things at me! I can take it. I love cliffhangers, reading or writing them.

Up next: We'll see how Chromia reacts and how Optimus reacts to a playmate his own size. Let the sparkling mayhem times two begin!


	19. Chapter 19

I know I said there'd be Optimus and Ironhide stuff in this chapter at the ending of the prior chapter. However, I came up with some awesomely funny stuff (I hope) that made this scene longer than planned. Please, enjoy. The next chapter will be Optimus and Ironhide's reactions to meeting each other.

a/n: (_italics_) in parenthesis are sparkling sounds

Also, I want to thank everyone for their reviews and for enjoying the story. I humbly thank you all.

* * *

_**Still in Wheeljack's lab…unbelievable isn't it!**_

The femme was fuming…literally. Ratchet, with his medical sensors, could detect the sharp increase of Chromia's core temperature. Magnus recognized the deathly glare in her optics, having been on the bad side a femme before and getting kicked in the groin and slapped across the faceplates for it. Prowl just expected it; better to be safe then sorry.

"**HOW COULD HE?**!" Chromia yelled.

Wheeljack assumed the fetal position to protect his most vital systems. Ratchet started looking for the biggest heaviest wrench he could swing at Chromia. And Prowl…he had the sedative ready to go, he was mere inches away from injecting it into her neck.

"**Arrgg! This is just so typical of him! The fragger would do anything to avoid an argument!**"

Prowl's arm dropped. She wasn't mad at Wheeljack. Pfft! She was mad at Ironhide!

"**I was wondering why the slaghead didn't come to recharge last night**," she fumed as she paced. "**Honestly, if he didn't want a sparkling why didn't he just come out and say it!"**

"This is a first," Ratchet whispered to Magnus. "A femme yelling, but not at us."

He nodded in agreement, watching Chromia pace.

"**But no, 'They smell, they're noisy, Mia. You wouldn't like it**,'" she said mimicking her sparkmate. "**FRAGGER!**"

"So, she's not mad at me?" Wheeljack asked, hiding behind Magnus' wide form.

"Doesn't appear so," Prowl answered standing with them now.

"**The fragger probably did it on purpose just so he wouldn't hear any more about sparklings from me!**"

"Chormia, I don't think…"

"**SHUT UP**!" she snapped at Ratchet.

"Ok, I'm shutting up."

"Do you think he'll be safe with her?" Magnus asked, the dead weight in his arms getting heavier and heavier by the moment. "I mean, Chromia can hold her anger against Hide just as long as Elita can against Optimus."

"I have no idea," Prowl muttered.

Chromia continued ranting in their language. Obviously she couldn't speak fast enough in Earth's English language to get all her anger out.

"What if…" Ratchet started but was interrupted.

(_gurgle_)

The four mechs looked anxiously at Ironhide. His stomach gurgled again but he continued to recharge.

"Is he waking up?" Prowl asked.

(_**GURGLE**_)

"No, he's still…oh, Primus what is that stench?" Ratchet exclaimed covering his nose.

Wheeljack gagged, covering his mouth. The smell was so bad it caused his holding tank to churn violently. If he didn't move away it was going to purge!

"Excuse me, Chromia!" Jack gasped rushing past her for the door.

Prowl, normally calm and poised, was right behind him. And Ratchet was right behind Prowl.

A _**somewhat**_ bewildered Chromia watched the three mechs pushing and shoving each other as they each tried to be the first one out the door.

"Chromia," Magnus said in a soft and gentle tone, making her turn around to see the big mech was now standing right beside her. "Can you be so kind as too…"

(_**fart!**_)

"Just take your sparkmate, please!" Magnus pleaded, his optic cover blinking rapidly. His optics were burning so badly! Primus, he'd never smelled anything so bad before in his entire life!

"What's wrong?" she innocently asked.

"You don't smell that!" he choked out in disbelief. Frag, how could she not notice the offensive smell?!

"Yeah, so. Ironhide has always had horrendous exhaust fumes. I'm so used to them I hardly notice them anymore."

(_**FART!**_)

That was it! Frag his stoicism. Magnus couldn't take it anymore! He needed fresh air! He dumped the recharging sparkling in her arms and sprinted out the door.

"Frag! Hide, you're heavy!" she exclaimed, straining to get him cradled properly. It took a few moments but she managed. "Well, I guess I can't get too made at you right now. You are kind of cute, even if you do weigh a ton."

(_fart_)

Chromia sighed, with a smile, gently rocking her Hide.

Sparkling or not. He was still her mech. The one she loved more than life itself. Yes, he was a pain in the aft. Yes, he made her furious at times.

(_fart_)

And yes, he was smelly. But he was _**her**_ mech.

(_snoring_)

Aww, even his snoring was the same. Only not as loud.

"We just heard!" Sunny exclaimed as he, Sides and Bee rushed into the lab. "Right on! Now we can blackmail Ironhide! Woohoo! I've been waiting for this day!"

"This is going to be so cool!" Sides agreed as they gathered around Chromia.

"Guys, shh, he's recharging," Bee told them quietly but was smiling just the same.

"Don't worry. Only the sound of gun fire and explosions will wake Hide up from recharge if his programs don't first," Chromia smiled proudly. "I guess I'd better enjoy him as a sparkling while I can. It's obviously going to be a long while until I get a sparkling of my own."

"Or…" Sunny grinned wickedly. "Once Wheeljack figures out how to change them back don't bother changing baby Hide back!"

"Frag that!" Chromia snorted. "There's too many things I love to do with Hide and I can't do them when he's like this."

"Right," Bumblebee agreed. "Besides, Sunny, you can't blackmail him if he's still a sparkling."

"Oh yeah."

(_**FART!**_)

"Did he just fart?" Sides giggled then suddenly choked and gagged. "Ahh, that reeks!"

"Did something crawl up his tailpipe and die?" Sunny asked, covering his nose and fanning the air as he backed away.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Bumblebee gasped, staggering backwards.

He really wasn't feeling well. His processor felt a bit foggy. His optics were seeing things a bit fuzzy. The energon he just drank was rumbling something fierce in his tank.

Chromia was really worried for Bee. He was like a little brother to her.

"Bee, you don't look so…"

Bumblebee suddenly just crashed to the floor. Optics offline. Leg twitching.

"…good," Chromia cringed. "Oops, sorry, Bee."

"I'll take him to Ratchet!" Sides quickly said, suppressing the urge to puke as he grabbed Bumblebee's arm.

"I'll help!" Sunny yelped, nose still covered, as he grabbed Bee's other arm.

The twins didn't even bother to pick up Bumblebee. They just dragged his form out of Wheeljack's lab as fast as they could! That smell was worse than the stink bombs they put in the command center one time!

"Well Hide, it's just you and me," she smiled, nuzzling her nose against his. "Just the way we like it, hmm?"

(_snoring_)

* * *

I hope you enjoyed that! I laughed while I wrote it! And yes, there'll be more Hide antics next chapter and he'll be awake for them too.


	20. Chapter 20

Sorry it took so long. Been a busy week in RL, you know how that goes. Plus, I was having trouble with the beginning of the chapter, wrote then rewrote it a number of times. While I wanted to get it out as quickly as possible, I also wanted to make sure it was up to par with the other chapters. Finally, here it is! Woohoo!

FTI – This is with regards to the other stories I'm working on. The Magnus one shot (called 'A Day in the Life of Ultra Magnus') (phoenix13, please, pick yourself up off the floor, I know you fainted reading that title!) and chapter 34 of My Beautiful Rising Star are nearly complete. I wanted to post them at the same time or at least close to the same time. Once that is done I will be updating Cosmic Castaway. The majority of those readers wanted more sparkling scenes with Optimus and Magnus. So there will be one more sparkling chapter for that story.

Now, on with Oops and let's see how Optimus and Ironhide's first meeting goes. Once again, I thank you for reading this story. I'm glad you're all enjoying it. Thank you.

* * *

_**Early morning Optimus and Elita's quarters**_

Optimus woke up. At first he was a little scared having remembered how he woke up before in the dark. Only this time there was some light from the ceiling. It wasn't bright but it was enough to keep his fears away.

First thing he did was grab his toy bot and greet it with a hug and warble. It was his favorite toy. Wherever he went, it was with him. Even in the bath Lita gave him last night. That was lots of fun.

Oh. Where's Lita?

He quickly stood up holding on to the railing for support and peered across the room to see Lita's optics were offline.

"Lita," he called softly.

The femme didn't move.

"LITA!" he shouted.

Not even a little twitch came from her.

Optimus let out a long, soft whistle of disappointment. Ah, but where there was a will there was a way. The floor wasn't that far. Only Optimus couldn't climb with the toy in his arm. He needed both hands to climb. Crawling on three limbs was not a problem. Climbing was a bit more complicated.

After a few moments he realized what he had to do.

The toy landed with a small crash on the floor making Optimus giggle. And like that, he was up and over the rail dangling. Then, as usually, he landed on his feet only to fall onto his aft.

With an abandon squeal of excitement, and with the toy in one arm, Optimus hurried across the floor to the bed where Lita was recharging. There he was face with his next dilemma- how to get up there with his toy?

Or maybe he didn't have to!

Optimus set the toy down then used the side of the bed to stand up. His optics just barely peeped over the top to see Lita was still recharge.

"Lita!" he called again. "Lita! Lita!"

And still, she did not wake.

Undeterred, Optimus bent down holding onto the side of the bed with one hand, and picked up his toy with the other. His legs kept wobbling and threatened to buckle but he managed to stand up straight with the toy in hand. However, as he tried to push the toy up onto the recharge bed his legs gave way and he fell onto his aft. The toy fell on the floor between his feet.

"Oops."

He sighed then tried it again. This time with success! And a few astroseconds later he was on the bed with Lita.

"Lita," he purred, optics dimming slightly, going nose to nose with her like she does to him all the time when she fills his spark with her love.

Elita was still kind of recharging but kind of waking when she felt something touch her face. On instinct, she shoved whatever it was away before her optics even came online. She had no idea she just sent Optimus rolling backwards off the bed and onto the floor.

Her optics came online at the sound of a loud crash. Sparkling cried instantly filled the room and a now wide awake femme scrambled off the recharge bed.

"I'm so sorry Optimus," she cooed, scooping him up and gently rocking him as she held him close.

He rattled off a few chirps at her as he continued to cry.

"I know, I said I was sorry. I didn't realize it was you. What were you doing out of your crib anyway?"

Of course he didn't answer that question. Instead he just nuzzled his face against her neck for comfort. Oh well, at least he was quieting down. She sighed wearily. Unfortunately, the day had begun, much too soon for Elita.

She prayed that once she and Optimus and their own sparkling the little bot wasn't going to be an early riser like Optimus. And if the little femme or mech was, then she was going to leave it to Optimus to tend to the little dear that early in the morning!

"You hungry?"

Optimus nodded his head. He finally understood some of the things Lita was telling him. Mainly eating time, recharging time, and play time. What else was there anyway?

Elita made sure to grab the toy bot before leaving the quarters. She thought Optimus was going to blow a gasket when she accidentally left it behind in recreation room last night. Thankfully Bumblebee had seen it and was already chasing Elita down to give it to Optimus before his tears became totally inconsolable.

"Bee!" Optimus cheered and pointed when he saw the yellow and black mech at the far end of the hallway.

Only Bumblebee didn't hear him. Bee and the twins were laughing and walking away with their backs to Elita and Optimus.

"They're up to no good," she told Optimus. "Probably going racing. That's the only reason why they'd be up this early."

(_beep_)

"Don't worry. I'm sure Jazz will be up soon enough to play with you. I hope. Maybe I can get an extra hour of recharge if he is."

Actually, Jazz was already up. He had just sat down at a table in the recreation room to enjoy some energon when he heard the bubbly, happy chirps and warbles of a sparkling approach. A moment later, Elita walked in with Optimus in her arms. The sparkling looked excited to be up so early, the femme did not.

"I see he's still an early riser," he chuckled.

"Yes, he is," she groaned.

Optimus continued talking to his toy as Lita set him down on the table near Jazz.

"He got out of his recharge crib and climbed up onto the bed with me!"

Jazz started giggling. He knew sparklings were a handful in the morning.

"Then I accidentally knocked him off the bed not knowing what was near my face!"

Optimus told Jazz all about it in sparkling talk while Elita made a bottle. Jazz listened intently making sure to keep optic contact adding a comment here and there. He loved sparklings. Such a shame he couldn't have his own with Prowl. He was so sure Prowl, if given the chance, would be an excellent daddy.

"You landed on your head?!" Jazz exclaimed.

Optimus nodded.

"You actually understand him?" Elita asked in surprise.

Jazz just smiled back at her. He wasn't going to tell that you didn't need to understand their sparkling words. It was the listening and up beat response that was important.

"Here's your bottle, Optimus," she chuckled, shaking her head.

After gently setting his toy bot down, Optimus grabbed the bottle with two hands and started suckling down his drink.

"And you said you wouldn't be a good mother," Jazz smirked at her.

"I know," she sighed, sitting down with her own cup of energon. "I was terrified of motherhood. I'm not afraid to admit that. The more Optimus would ask for a sparkling the more I felt this pressure building up. But it's gone now."

Optimus paused in his drinking and spoke to Elita in his sparkling talk then went back to drinking again.

"I think that was an 'I told you so,'" Jazz laughed. Not thinking about what he was doing, he grabbed the toy bot that Optimus had set down. "I remember when Optimus gave this to…"

(_**squawk!**_)

Hey! That was his! Optimus dropped the bottled and yanked the toy out of Jazz's hands. A series of harsh chirps and beeps sounded as he scowled at Jazz.

"Sorry little boss," Jazz said sincerely, patting Optimus on the head. "It's all yours."

"Oh Primus! I didn't think I was going to make it!" Wheeljack laughed as he, Magnus, Prowl, and Ratchet walked into the recreation room.

"I honestly didn't think Ratchet could run that fast!" Magnus chuckled.

Elita and Jazz glanced at each other. What was going on the make these mechs, yes including Prowl, laugh uncontrollably.

"I swear, I had never smell anything that bad before," Prowl giggled. "I thought my intakes were going to seize up!"

"That was a bit mean of you Magnus to send Bumblebee and the twins in there like that," Ratchet said then laughed hard. "I wish I could see the looks on their faces when they smell old Hide's exhaust fumes!"

"Are you guys drunk?" Elita finally asked.

"No but my processor does feel a bit fuzzy from those fumes," Jack snickered. "And I still need some energon."

"I'll get us all some energon with high grade," Prowl said causing Jazz to raise his optic brows. Prowl ignored his sparkmate. He needed a drink!

"Now you all had better fess up!" Jazz demanded.

(_beep!_)

"Even Optimus agrees," Jazzed added. "What's going on?"

"Go ahead Jack, you found him," Ratchet said as they all sat at the table with Jazz, Elita and Optimus.

"This time it wasn't my fault," Jack smiled proudly of that fact. "Ironhide did it to himself."

"Did what?!" Jazz and Elita both demanded.

"While I was recharging on my work table in the lab, Ironhide came in. He must have assumed I had forgotten to turn the alien device off…oh thanks Prowl." Jack paused to take a long sip of his energon high grade mix. "Anyway, as I had told Prowl the light is always on. You have to push it to activate it."

"And Hide pushed it!" Ratchet added.

"No, he didn't? You mean?" Elita gasped, covering her mouth.

"Oh yeah, I woke up this morning and there was sparkling Hide snoring on the floor," Jack laughed. "Live cannons included."

"Ow! Please, don't remind me," Ratchet shuddered rubbing the top of his head.

"How did Chromia take it?" Jazz asked.

"I told her myself," Prowl answered, sitting beside Jazz. "She didn't react much. Just told me to take her to him. I couldn't tell if she was mad or not. It was scary walking alone with her."

"When she gets there, we're ready for anything," Magnus continued. "Only she didn't react like we all thought."

"Chromia was mad at Ironhide!" Ratchet laughed. "Primus, it was too funny. Wish you'd been there to see it."

"No she doesn't," Magnus insisted. "We would have still been there if Ironhide hadn't started releasing the most fowl exhaust fumes I'd ever smelled. Trust me Elita, you wouldn't have wanted to be there."

Elita and Jazz laughed. Optimus giggled too even though he didn't know what they were talking about. But Lita was laughing and that was good enough for him.

"Optimus had told me all about Ironhide and his smelling exhaust fumes he had to endure when they recharged on the battlefield," Elita laughed. "In fact, Optimus implored me to warn Chromia once it was apparent she was going after Ironhide. He didn't want her intakes to suffer as his did."

"Like Optimus' were any better," Magnus snorted. "I remember poor little Bumblebee was behind Optimus one time. Optimus had no idea the youngling was there, in fact he thought he was alone when he released a nasty fart. The smell was too much for little Bee and he passed out."

"Bee!" Optimus cheered.

"That's right, Bee," Magnus smiled, patting him on the head.

"Bee!" Optimus repeated pointing towards the door.

Everyone turned to see Sunny and Sides looking as if they were about to purge their waste tanks. Between them, propped up with his arms around the twins' shoulders, was Bumblebee looking a bit woozy and dragging his feet along.

"That was a mean trick, Magnus!" Sunny growled.

"I never thought a fart could smell so fraggin awful!" Sides commented. "Hide knocked poor Bee out with one!"

"Bumblebee will be fine," Ratchet smirked. "Nothing a little fresh air won't fix."

They all burst into laughter, except for the twins and Bee. Sunny and Sides actually didn't think it was so funny! They had left the lab but the smell was still lingering in their intakes!

"Come on, sit down and have some high grade," Prowl said. "Just don't set your cups down on the table and clean them when you're done."

"What about Bee?" Sunny asked.

"Set him on the couch, he'll be fine," Ratchet answered, returning back to his drink.

"Oh and get this, Chromia didn't even flinch when Hide farted," Magnus said. "I couldn't believe it."

"That's love stupid aft," Elita chided him. "Just wait until you get your own femme and she has to put up with your fraggin farts!"

Magnus looked at her 'as if!'

"Don't give me that look Magnus," she growled, pointing at him. "I know for a fact yours stink just as bad as Optimus'. And that goes for all of you!"

Optimus laughed. Mags was in trouble with Lita!

"Thank you, Elita for putting them in their place."

The room instantly fell silent and they all turned to see Chromia standing in the doorway. Air intakes seized up in anticipation. In her arms was a wide awake sparkling Ironhide chewing on his fingers. It might have been cute if he wasn't trying to cram his whole hand into his mouth with them. Thankfully his hand was too big for his mouth.

"Relax, guys," Chromia smiled. "He only lets out exhaust fumes when he's recharging. He's perfectly harmless now."

"Ah, would you look at him! He's adorable!" Elita exclaimed, making all the mech's roll their optics. Pfft! Femmes! "Oh, sit him with Optimus and let's see how they interact!"

"This ought to be interesting," Ratchet muttered.

CLANK!

"**Ow!**" he shouted, rubbing his head.

Optimus giggled hysterically. Ratch got hit in the head by Lita! Too funny! Oh, who's that?!

All optics watched anxiously as Optimus started trilling excitedly when Chromia approached. Ironhide turned his head. He finally showed interest in something other than his fingers as he was sat down on the table beside Optimus.

At first they didn't do anything but stare at each other. Optic covers blinked slowly as each one tried to process what they were seeing. It was Optimus who smiled first with a squeal.

Everyone remained quiet and just listened to the two sparklings talking to each other. Well, it was Optimus doing most of the sparkling talk. Ironhide seemed to answer with either a long or short grunt. But he was responding to Optimus, much to Elita and Chromia's delight. The two femmes were giddy!

"Opt!" Optimus said, patting his chest.

"That's very good," Elita smiled proudly. "This is Hide. Remember how to say Hide?"

"Hide," Optimus said, touching Ironhide's arm.

Ironhide pulled his arm away, optic covers blinked rapidly. He still wasn't sure what to make of all this. Everyone kept looking at him and smiling. What did he do?

(_**GURGLE!**_)

"Oh no," Jack winced at the sound of Ironhide's tank.

"Shh!" everyone else said.

Ironhide grunted and patted his belly. What was that?!

"Jazz, a couple of bottles might be a good idea," Elita whispered.

"I'm on it," Jazz said quietly.

Optimus heard the sound again. He didn't think twice about it and held out his bottle for Hide to take.

(_beep_)

A collective sound of hushed awws sounded from everyone, including Bee who recovered enough to stand on his own now. This was so cool, now that the nausea was over!

"They're so cute!" Chromia and Elita cooed.

Ironhide took the object. He didn't know what it was. But there was something inside. He could hear it when he shook it. He turned the object over in his hands to see if there was a way to get what was inside out. After he couldn't find a way he started smacking it on the table.

Optimus thought it was funny so he started banging his toy on the table as he giggled. This was so much fun! Someone his size to play with!

"What is it with them always banging things?" Elita asked.

Several choked laughs and snorts sounded through the room.

"For frags sake! Get your processors out of the pit! I wasn't talking about interfacing!"

"Lita, you know that's all mechs think about, even Ratchet," Chromia smirked.

Ratchet just glared at her. He was better than that. He didn't think about interfacing _**all**_ the time.

"Bottles are ready," Jazz smiled, handing Elita the two bottles.

"Here Optimus, show Hide how it works," she said, handing a bottle over. "Chromia, see if you can take that bottle away from Hide. We'll give him a fresh one."

"Hide, sweetie, can I have that?" she asked, putting her hand on it.

Ironhide sighed as the pretty black femme took the object away. He tucked his hands next to his chest, unsure of what to do now. His tank was making noises again.

"Here, you go a nice fresh bottle," Chromia smiled holding the new bottle out in front of Hide. "Go on. See how Optimus is drinking it?"

Oh! Is that how it works! Ironhide took the bottle turned it around in his hands a couple of times, glanced over at Opt to see how it worked, and then shoved one end in his mouth.

Everyone laughed. Ironhide was trying to get his energon drink for the wrong end of the bottle. Determined to get what he wanted, he grunted and gnawed on the bottle until his mouth found the sweet spot.

It was an adorable moment with two sparklings sitting side by side, eagerly suckling down their energon drinks at the same time.

(_burp!_)

Elita shook her head. She still had to teach Optimus some manners!

Optimus burped again making Ironhide giggle. Everyone chuckled. It was the first noise other than a grunt from Hide! Of course, he was making a mess on himself in the process. Why does that not surprise Chromia? His energon drink dribbled down his chin as he continued to giggle while suckling on his bottle. Still, Chromia's spark just melted. Some how, some way, once Hide was back to himself, she was going together with him and make a sparkling!

(_**fart!**_)

Every mech, except for Prowl and Jazz, bolted at that sound. Chairs were knocked over. Tables were sent skidding. It was survival of the fittest as they scrambled out the door of the recreation room, not caring who got stepped on or knocked down in the rush!

Two sparkling mechs blinked their optic covers rapidly as their little processors tried to work out what the excitement was all about. And two femmes shook their heads thinking they were all crazy.

Jazz scowled and smacked Prowl on the back of his head. He knew exactly whose fart that was!

"Sorry Jazz, I couldn't hold it in any longer. You know energon mixed with high grade always gives me bad exhaust fumes. You should have stopped me."

Both Optimus and Ironhide giggled hysterically.

* * *

Ok, sorry! I couldn't help it! I tossed in that last fart joke at the last second. That's if for the farting. Up next we'll see how Optimus and Ironhide play together. Will they be naughty or nice?


	21. Chapter 21

This is the setup chapter for Optimus and Ironhide sparkling antics and cuteness in the next chapter which will up in the next day or so. Sorry, I needed some kind of transition from them finding out that Ironhide was a sparkling to him and Optimus playing. It just didn't seem right to plop them on their afts and let them have at it. Not with the dialogue I wanted to get into the story.

So to make up for not having the baby mech wreckers showing their stuff, I've got some funny dialogue from the twins and Chromia threatening to blow of interface appliances if anyone messes with her mech.

* * *

_**Ratchet's assigned quarters now known as the Play Room**_

After the early morning frivolities, things quickly settled down. Wheeljack returned to his lab to work on some new ideas he had for undoing what's been done. Optimus and Ironhide finished their breakfast, a rather big breakfast for both - 3 bottles each. Both had fallen into an after meal recharge to digest.

For the others decisions had to be made and made quickly while the sparklings were quiet and smell free. While they had every confidence that Wheeljack would find a solution, work still had to get done around the base. When Optimus is returned back to normal he would be most displeased if his officers were negligent in their duties while he was out of commission.

So, it was Ratchet who came up with the idea to convert his originally assigned quarters into a play room. He never used them, opting for one of the smaller living quarters closest to the Med Bay. Besides, a play room was going to be necessary for the sparkling or sparklings Optimus and Elita were going to be sparking.

And since the room was uninhabited, it didn't take long for the mechs to remove the desk, recharge bed, and supply cabinets. One of the smaller couches from the recreation room was brought in. One of the two cribs Magnus found in storage was placed in a corner, the other taken to Chromia and Ironhide's room. Ironhide, the packrat, even had another bin of toys hiding in an unmarked container that Magnus found in the armory.

So in about an hour, a play room was ready for occupancy.

"It needs some pictures painted on the walls or something," Jazz commented as they stood back to inspect their handy work. "You know, bright colors, teddy bears, shapes…" he paused noticing all the raised optics ridges and optics staring at him like he was crazy. "What?"

"Later Jazz, it will work for now," Prowl insisted. "Ratchet, go ahead and let Elita and Chromia know the room is ready."

"No need, Prowl," Elita said from the doorway.

In her arms was Optimus staring at everything with alert and curious optics. Behind them was Ironhide yawning, rubbing an optic with a fist while leaning his head on Chromia's shoulder seemingly intent on heading back into recharge.

Oh wow!

Optimus trilled excitedly then start squirming and grunting hard. He wanted down now! Elita nearly dropped him with has much as he was wiggling in her arms.

"Better set him down," Ratchet chuckled.

"Hang on," she told her sparkmate, keeping a firm grip on him, she held him before her, feet dangling. "Patience, Optimus."

His legs grew still…for about an astrosecond then he start kicking and grunting again. He even let out a harsh beep at her. Elita relented and just set him on the floor. The toy bot was shoved into her hand before he sped towards the toy bins.

"You can't teach them everything," Magnus laughed. "Besides, patience doesn't exist for a sparkling or a youngling for that matter."

"Or some mature mechs," Chromia added, moving forward and setting Ironhide down on the floor near Optimus.

Everyone was quiet for a moment, watching as Ironhide crawled over to see what Optimus was doing. Optimus was clinging onto the storage bin as he stood on wobbly legs and looking at all the new toys.

Prowl took this quiet moment to speak up. Things had to get done they couldn't afford to be negligent any longer.

"This room is a safe and secure area to contain them while we get our work done," Prowl said, staring down at the peaceful sparklings. He knew all to well what was going to happen once they got going.

"Contain them? They're not Decepticons you throw in the brig, they're sparklings!" Elita snapped. She was ready to take his fraggin head off for saying such a thing about Optimus!

"Prowl is right," Magnus insisted, gently holding Elita back. "It was simpler with only one sparkling. Now there are two of them."

"Listen to them, Elita, you didn't see the mess Optimus caused all by himself!" Bumblebee exclaimed, flexing his hand. "I still have bite marks on my hand."

"Hopefully you learned your lesson, Bumblebee," Magnus seriously said.

Bumblebee nodded his head. Oh yeah, he learned his lesson alright!

"Good, you're on sparkling duty today," the City Commander continued. "Prowl is heading out to check on a possible Barricade sighting. Jazz and Elita will be with him as back up if he needs it. Remember to hang back. We want to draw Barricade out if possible before closing in on him. Chormia, I need you in the Command Center with me monitoring the situation. Ratchet…make sure Wheeljack stays alive so he can bring Optimus and Ironhide back to us."

"What about us?" Sides asked, pointing at him and his brother.

"You're on sparkling duty with Bumblebee."

"Frag that!" Sunny adamantly protested. "I'd rather deal with the Decepticon…at least him I can shoot at in self-defense!"

"Too bad," Magnus smirked. "What's that phrase, Jazz?"

"Payback! It's a bitch!" Jazz snickered. "Good luck! It was nice knowing ya!"

"Jazz, be nice," Prowl chided.

"You all have your orders, let's get to it," Magnus said.

"Wait! Wait!" Sunny requested as everyone started leaving. "Can we have something to…to you know stuff up Ironhide's tailpipe in case he has a gas attack again?"

The plasma rifle came from nowhere and was pointed right at his crotch. It was primed too. Sunny could feel its heat! It was not a pleasant feeling near such a sensitive area.

"If you so much as put a scratch or do anything near my sparkmate's aft I will blow it off where it counts!" Chromia growled her optics were tiny slits that glowed hot with femme fury.

"I was merely concerned for Bumblebee," Sunny nervously responded, hands up in the air, slowly inching away. "He's the responsible one. The one we can't afford to have passing out from nasty exhaust fumes."

The weapon's safety slowly clicked off.

Sparklings' laughter suddenly filled the room. Optimus and Ironhide had managed to both get inside the same toy bin. Apparently they figured it was easier to get the toys out this way rather than pulling them out.

"Chromia, live weapons near sparklings is never a good thing," Prowl said calmly, his hand gently replacing the weapon's safety back on.

"I promise Ironhide will be well cared for," Bumblebee spoke, pulling Sunny behind him. Then he looked to Elita. "As will Optimus."

"Of course, they will," Magnus said, deciding to take control. "We have our orders, move out everyone."

"Bee, here," Elita smiled, handing Bumblebee the toy bot. "He'll want it back once he's done playing with the other toys."

"I understand."

More giggles and shrieking sounded from the sparklings.

That was everyone's queue to head out, leaving Bee, Sunny, and Sides alone in the room with the sparklings.

"I wonder if Ironhide bites too," Sides muttered sitting on the couch.

"It's not his mouth I'm worried about," Sunny commented sitting next to his brother.

"Guys, they're sparklings. We're three agile mech wreckers who have taken down Decepticons. We've seen what Optimus can do. We can handle two little sparklings."

"I sure hope you're right, Bee," Sunny said watching Optimus and Ironhide. The little mech wreckers were chatting away about something in their sparkling talk.

"Trust me," Bee smiled, standing confidently with his arms folded across his chest.

* * *

Up next: The Ironhide, Optimus sparkling showdown. Will Bee and the twins handle the mini duo? Or will Optimus and Ironhide get the better of the three mech wreckers they had helped to raise?


	22. Chapter 22

Finally! Some Opt and Hide antics! Sweet! There's so much I had to break it down into two chapters. Here's the first.

* * *

_**Misadventures in sparkling sitting in the play room round one**_

And so everyone left Bee and the twins alone with two _**fully**_ charged sparklings. Neither of the three could recall exactly how they acted when sparklings. They could only guess that it was something horrible. They had never seen that kind of smirk on Magnus' face before when he told them they were on sparkling duty.

Little did they realize just how horrible two sparklings could be.

"So, do we just sit here and watch them?" Sunny asked, sitting on the couch.

"They do seem content for now," Sides said, sitting beside his brother.

Bumblebee, on the other hand, decided to take a more interactive approach. He honestly wanted to have his own sparklings one day and saw this as an opportunity to learn. So, he plucked Optimus out of the toy bin with the intent of sitting on the floor with him and Ironhide to play.

Mistake number one - never interrupt a sparkling when he or she is playing.

Total sparkling irritation erupted and loudly!

Sunny and Sides stared in disbelief. They never thought that their Prime, their leader, a well respected mech wrecker was capable of throwing a temper tantrum! Even Bumblebee was in total shock as Optimus kicked wilding in his hands and screeched loudly.

Then to all their dismay, Ironhide climbed out of the bin, actually tipping it over due to his hefty weight, crawled over and head butted Bee in the ankle…hard. Then he growled. Although, Hide's growl was nowhere as menacing as it would have been if he were fully mature, sounding more like a high pitched mecho-puppy growl. But it was enough to get his point across.

Bee carefully set Optimus down next to Ironhide. Little boss bot was livid! Small blue orbs flared as he ripped of a string of harsh clicks and chirps at Bumblebee.

"Bee, you just got put in your place!" Sunny laughed uncontrollably.

Not to be outdone, Ironhide added his own comment to the situation.

"Fragger!"

"Where did he learn that word?!" Sides asked, optic covers blinking rapidly. It was almost too much for his cerebral processor to process.

"Knowing Hide, he was probably born with the knowledge of every known swear word in the universe," Sunny snickered. He thought the entire scene was too funny!

"Bee, don't take it to spark," Sides said, noticing the somewhat hurt look on his friend's faceplates. "They're sparklings and don't know exactly what they're saying."

"Seemed very clear to me!" Sunny laughed.

WHACK!

"OW!" Sunny cried, rubbing his head.

"Stupid aft!"

Sunny had it! He pounced on Sides and started punching him in the face! Bad enough Magnus gave him THE lecture. He didn't need any slag from his brother too! But of course, Sides wasn't going to sit there and take it, so he retaliated. He was getting tired of his brother's wise cracks.

Three sets of baby blue optics curiously watched. Their optic covers blinked slowly as the twins wrestled and punched each other on the couch. Curses were hurled. Fists were flying. And two innocent sparklings were taking in every astrosecond of it.

Mistake number two – no fighting or swearing in front of the sparklings.

"Aft!"

"Slagger!"

"Fraggin aft!"

"FRAGGER!"

Bumblebee was mortified at how fast sparklings could pick up on that kind of talk! Thankfully they didn't know what they were saying and were actually giggling at each other as they said it. They were even laughing as they pushed each other.

However, Bumblebee had a feeling that Elita was to blast some afts for that. So he decided to take control of the situation before the twins actually started hurting each other and before two sparkling processors were corrupted any further.

"**THAT'S ENOUGH**!" he bellowed. "You're supposed to be on sparkling duty! Not acting like sparklings! If you want to act like sparklings then so be it! Sunny in that corner, Sides the other…**NOW**!"

The brothers paused in mid swing and blinked up at him. Wow, Bee was serious.

"Frag, Bee, I'm glad you're not my father! Corner now!" Sunny joked, making Bee smile.

"Just help me out with the sparklings and try to control yourselves. Remember who they are, they still deserve our respect."

"Ok, Bee. We'll behave," Sides agreed as his brother helped him to his feet.

"Sorry bro, no hard feelings?"

"Nah, don't worry about it."

It never ceased to amaze Bumblebee how the brothers could hate each other one astrosecond then love each other the next. But then, he doesn't share a spark bond with anyone like they do with each other.

"And you two, no more bad words," Bee said, bending down and pointing at the sparklings.

They both grinned and giggled. Little blue optics filled with mischief stared up at him.

Bumblebee stood up and turned around with the intent of sitting on the couch with the twins and just watching Optimus and Ironhide play.

Mistake number three – never turn your back on a sparkling.

With a shriek and whistle Optimus rapidly scaled up the back of Bumblebee startling the mech. Sunny and Sides laughed as poor Bee kept trying to grab Optimus but the little mech kept dodging Bee's hands.

"Please, can you get him off," Bee requested with a heavy sigh, arms down at his sides in defeat.

"Sure, turn around," Sides said getting to his feet.

Ironhide was curious about what they were doing to his friend Opt so he moved closer for a better view.

Mistake number four – always look where you're stepping when a sparkling is in the room.

"Sides look out!" Sunny shouted only it was too late. His brother's foot came down on Ironhide's fingers.

The scream was audio receptor shattering. Sides froze not knowing what to do. Bumblebee, not thinking but just reacting, whirled around to see what happened to Ironhide.

Mistake number five – never make any sudden movements with a sparkling clinging to your armor unless you have a firm grip on them.

There was a loud crash. The three mechs held their breath as they watched Optimus laying face down on the floor. He immediately rolled over they knew it wasn't good. His optics cover were shut tight, his mouth wide open, and his chest had expanded as far as it could go. The wail that sounded was even louder than Ironhide's and reverberated off the walls.

Bumblebee, who was well known for his quick thinking, went into action. First he lifted Sides' foot up off Ironhide's fingers. Then he picked up Ironhide and plopped him in Sides' arms. Sides juggled Ironhide trying to figure out how he was supposed to hold a sparkling. Sunny was there giving him pointers even though he didn't know how to hold a sparkling either.

"You two try to get him to stop crying," Bee ordered then hurried across the room and picked up Optimus. "Shh, I'm so sorry, Optimus. There, there. I got you now."

"How do we do that?" Sunny asked looking very concerned, gently holding Hide's injured hand up.

Frag! Their sparks were racing so fast! Last thing they ever wanted was for two of their leaders to be seriously injured. Not when said leaders had femme sparkmates with itchy trigger fingers!

"I'm calling, Ratchet," Bumblebee said, he wasn't going to take any chances.

For once, the twins didn't make a quip about it.

Meanwhile, as they waited, Ironhide quieted down a bit. He still had huge tears rolling down his faceplates as he sucked on his trampled fingers. He resorted to grunting and moaning instead of crying. Optimus stopped wailing but was continually whimpering with his bottom lip sticking out while being cradled in Bee's arms.

"That has got to be a record," Ratchet said as he came in. "Ten minutes! We left you alone for ten minutes and already the sparklings got hurt!"

The three young mechs were in shock. Ten minutes? They had to check their internal chronometers for verification. Frag, this was going to be a _**long**_ day.

"From the tears I take it they were both crying," Ratchet observed. "So who's the most damaged?"

"We don't know," Bee answered. "Sides stepped on Ironhide's fingers and I…well…I kind of flung Optimus to the floor. But it was all on accident!"

"Don't worry Bumblebee," Ratchet smiled, moving over and examining Hide's fingers. "You got guys got stepped on and dropped a number of times too when you were sparklings. Sunny always managed to land on his head, we could never figure out why."

"Oh, that explains it," Sides commented receiving a hiss and glare from his twin.

"No damage to Hide's fingers. And my scans show Optimus is fine too. He was probably more scared than anything. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

And like that the three young mechs were once again alone with the two quiet sparklings. They suddenly laughed.

"Bee, you were so scared! I think you were actually shaking!"

"What about you, Sunny?! I've never seen you so worried for Ironhide before!" Bee countered.

"Can I put him down? He's fraggin heavy."

"Sure, Sides. They're quiet now," Bee said, gently setting Optimus on the floor. "Hopefully they'll go back to playing." Bee rubbed the top of Optimus head. "You feeling better now?"

Optimus sighed looking a bit sad. Even Ironhide was looking depressed sitting quietly next to Prime.

"Do you want to play peek-a-boo?" Bee asked.

Optimus shook his head no.

"What about you, Hide?"

Ironhide grunted, shoving Bee's hand away.

On impulse, Sunny got up and sifted through the toys, grabbing a couple of what the humans call action figures, nothing the size of the toy bot Bee had set aside until Optimus asked for it. Then he knelt down in front of Optimus and Ironhide.

Sides and Bumblebee curiously moved off to the side and watched. Neither of them had a clue what he was about to do.

"_Does anyone dare challenge me, the mighty Megatron, from conquering the universe?_" Sunny said, changing his voice to sound like Megatron holding up one of the action figures.

"_I, Optimus Prime challenge you!_" he said holding up another action figure, imitating a mature Optimus' voice.

"_You can't stop me, Prime! I'm indestructible."_

"_You're old Megatron, yesterday's model. Ready for the scrap heap!"_

"_We'll see who's ready for the scrap heap!"_

Sunny imitated the sounds of laser fire making the two action figures fight each other. At the same time, Optimus and Ironhide were watching intently, optics wide and mouths slightly open in awe. They'd never seen toys do that before!

"_As usual Optimus your aim is terrible, let me show you how it's done,"_ Sunny said, picking up a third action figure, making his voice sound like a mature Ironhide.

"_Who are you?_"

"_I'm Ironhide, and I'm gonna blow your fraggin aft all the way back to Cybertron, Megabum!_"

The sparklings shrieked and giggled wildly.

"_Decepticons retreat!"_

"Yeah! Optimus and Ironhide saved the day!" Sunny cheered using his own voice.

The sparklings clapped excitedly.

"_Wait a second, what are those, Ironhide?_"

Optimus and Ironhide froze. The toys were looking at them!

"_Those are sparklings, Optimus! Let's get them!_"

Shouting. Screaming. Trilling. Laughing. Sparkling fun erupted as Sunny chased after them on all fours. Bumblebee and Sides weren't going to remain idle and joined in the fray. And for a couple of hours the three mechs chased the two sparklings around the room and vice versa.

They were all into the game so much that they never noticed they had a brief visitor in the doorway watching them for a few minutes. Magnus was concerned when he heard all kinds of shouting and screaming echoing down the hallway so he looked in on them. Then he walked away laughing to tell the others what he'd witnessed.

"Frag! I'm pooped!" Sunny gasped laying flat on his back on the floor. "Where do they get all the energy?!"

Ironhide grunted and crawled his way up onto Sunny's chest. Sides came over and grabbed Hide's little hands, raising them up high.

"And the winner by knock out is Ironhide!" Sides cheered.

"And the crowd goes wild!" Sunny added, tickling Hide's stomach making him giggle hysterically.

"Well, it's quite clear who Ironhide's favorite is," Bee commented with Optimus firmly perched on his shoulders.

"What do you mean?" Sunny asked.

As if to answer, Ironhide pulled his hands free from Sides, lay down on Sunny chest to chest little arms as wide as he could get them, and started purring.

"Ah, that's so cute!" Sides chuckled.

Sunny sighed. Oh well, at least he was useful for something.

"I think while they're quiet I'll go get us some energon," Sides mentioned. "I need a power boost after all that."

"Good idea. Get a couple of bottles for them two while you're at it," Bumblebee suggested setting Optimus down on the floor. "I'm sure they worked up an appetite too."

"Sure thing."

"We don't have to tell Ironhide about this do we?" Sunny asked after his brother left, watching as Ironhide nuzzled his face against his armor.

"Think of it as ammo for blackmailing him," Bumblebee grinned wickedly as he sat down on the couch.

Optimus had followed Bumblebee. He didn't want to be on the floor. He wanted Bee to hold him. Only when he tried to climb up onto the couch he fell down onto his aft.

"Bee," he wept, reaching up for help.

Of course, Bumblebee didn't hesitate to lift Optimus up onto his lap.

"Is that better?"

Optimus didn't answer. He nuzzled his face against Bee's chest armor as if to try to get comfortable. A few moments later Optimus was curled up in a snug ball and in recharge. Bumblebee smiled, wrapping an arm protectively around the sparkling, sighing contently. Moments like this only reinforced his desire to want to be father some day.

"I think he's snoring now," Sunny whispered, feeling a heavy weight now totally relaxed on his chest.

"Looks like he's in recharge like Optimus," Bee said looking down at the duo on the floor.

"What do I do?"

"Just keep still for now. They might not recharge for long."

"Are we sure it's safe? I mean, you know what happens when Ironhide recharges. Stink happens."

"At least you're downwind," Bee laughed softly.

"Oh yeah," he smiled, gently stroking Ironhide on the back. "Keep your aft quiet…for Bee's sake, ok?"

"What you did today, Sunny that was very good. You might not be such a bad father after all."

"Nah, I only did what Ironhide used to do to get me to stop crying."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he even made sound effects too."

"Sounds like he'd be a good father. I wonder why he's so adamant about not producing a sparkling with Chromia."

"His reputation, Bee," Sunny snorted. "It'd be ruined. He'd be a target for so many jokes. I know I wouldn't hesitate to tease him."

"Optimus isn't worried."

"Because everyone knows Optimus would be a wonderful father. He's like a father to us all being our leader. And he can take a joke much better than Ironhide."

Bumblebee's optics blinked in surprise. He never thought of that.

"Wow, Sunny. I didn't realize you were so smart."

Sunny giggled softly, keeping still so he doesn't disturb Ironhide.

"I'm not that smart. Just very observant. You have to be in order to know who you can prank and who you can't!"

"I should have known," Bee said, rolling his optics.

They were quiet for a few moments. Each one content in watching the sparklings recharge.

"You know Bee," Sunny grinned. "Sparkling duty isn't all that bad."

* * *

Up next: Round 2


	23. Chapter 23

I decided to break this chapter into two. I couldn't let Bee and the twins have all the fun with the sparklings. There will be one more chapter of Optimus and Ironhide antics after this chapter.

* * *

_**Misadventures in sparkling sitting in the play room round two**_

Optimus and Ironhide only took a twenty minute nap. They didn't even glance at the bottles Sides brought for them. They were simply more interested in playing and weren't hungry at all. Only this time Bee, Sunny, and Sides sat on the couch and watched the sparklings play.

The three young mechs were still recovering.

Sparkling chatter, trilling, beeping, chirping, whistling, whatever noise a sparkling could make, except for burping and farting, filled the room for nearly an hour. During that time Ironhide must have chewed on each toy at least once before settling on the action figure Sunny used to portray Megatron.

Sunny noticed there were already bite marks on most of the toys, presumably from him, his brother and Bee when they were sparklings. So he didn't see anything wrong with Ironhide chewing on a simple toy. He actually thought it was kind of cute how Ironhide crawled around with the toy in his mouth, grunting and growling while chasing or mostly being chased by Optimus.

It was clear who was the faster of the two on all fours. Optimus often crawled ahead and would turn back, beeping as if to say 'come and get me slow poke' or 'catch me if you can leadaft!' Then he'd giggle and crawl away as soon as Ironhide got close. Yet, no matter how far away Optimus got, Ironhide just kept coming at his own pace, grinning. The mech never gave up.

Both were also excellent climbers and neither was afraid to fall a short distance. The three mechs on the couch were scaled multiple times. Their long legs were a means for the sparklings to slide down or fall, rolling down to the floor only to climb back up giggling and screaming excitedly.

The toy bins, resting on their sides, were now play things for the sparklings to crawl in and out, climb on top, and hop down, tackling one other. It was actually funny when they tried to tackle one another. They were a bit uncoordinated about it, sometimes missing the other one all together and doing a face plant or a belly flop on the floor. Even more funny was how their high pitched growls sounded as they wrestled.

But even though their growls, grunts, and shouts were no where near as intimidating as their mature selves sounded, they were just as loud! At one point, Optimus was sitting on one bin banging a toy on it and shouting loudly while Ironhide was on the other bin doing the same thing. Both would poof out their chests as each one was trying to out do the other in volume.

It was after several very long, loud minutes of this when Ironhide suddenly got real quiet as Optimus continued his bellowing and banging. Something was wrong with Hide's tank. It didn't feel right. It was making funny noises. But not like it was hungry.

OW!

All of a sudden Ironhide let out a loud shriek of sharp pain.

"That doesn't sound right!" Sunny shouted with worry as he hurried to pick up Hide.

Tears flowed fast from Ironhide's soft blue optics as he cried. His one free hand clung on tight to Sunny's armor. The other held onto his favorite toy as tight as he possibly could. His small thick legs kicked in agitation.

The young mech was terrified! He could feel Ironhide trembling in his arms. Even Optimus grew quiet sensing something was wrong. What happened? Everyone was standing and looking carefully at Hide.

"Bee, what do we do?" Sunny asked, his voice wavering.

Bumblebee never saw Sunny scared before. On a good day he'd be making fun of his friend. However, he couldn't do that at the expense of one little sparkling in obvious pain. So, he summoned Ratchet without hesitation. Ratchet could fix everything, they learned that when they were young.

It didn't take long for the CMO to arrive. He had a smirk on his face when he waltzed in wondering what they did to the sparklings now. Only the sounds of a very distressed sparkling were enough to let him know this was very serious. Much more serious than trampled fingers.

"What happened?" he immediately asked, his medical sensors scanning Ironhide to diagnose the problem.

"I don't know. He was sitting there playing fine one minute. And then the next he was crying in pain," Sunny explained.

Before Ratchet could respond Ironhide unexpectedly purged his tank onto an unsuspecting Sunny. As a medic stuff like that never bothered Ratchet. He'd seen far worse things than sparkling puke. His optics and sensors carefully observed the brownish substance ooze into the gaps of Sunny's chest armor and then slide down his stomach plating onto his leg, looking for clues that would cause the discomfort Ironhide was experiencing.

Sides and Bumblebee felt sorry for Hide. They understood how discomforting purging one's tank was. Admittedly theirs usually got upset from drinking too much high grade before racing. Racing tends to shake the tank too much. And a full tank of high grade getting sloshed around was never a good thing.

Pure revulsion was etched into Sunny's face plates. Not just at the sensation of the warm puke on his armor but the fact that he could feel _**every**_ bit of it slowly slide down his form. He visibly shuddered, his tank lurched, and he gagged. Ah! The stench! It was nearly as bad as Ironhide's exhaust fumes. Even worse, Sunny's processor was having difficulty calculating how many showers it was going to take to get rid of the smell!

Ironhide violently retched again before Sunny could recover quickly enough to aim the sparkling in another direction. At least this time it wasn't digested energon that came out. Whatever it was pinged off Sunny's armor and landed on the floor. Ratchet didn't hesitate to pick it up receiving three disgusted looks.

"Ah, I see," he mused, holding the head of a toy in the palm of his hand for the others to see. "Has he been chewing on any toys?"

Sunny pulled up Ironhide's hand to see the head was indeed missing from the action figure. Ironhide smiled proudly and then giggled. Obviously he was feeling better now much to Sunny's relief. Now if he could only do something about the stench, his tank was still churning.

"You can't let them chew on the smaller toys," Ratchet told them.

"He popped the ball already and hadn't eaten any of the other toys," Sides said. "We didn't see the harm."

"Well now you do," Ratchet smiled, removing the toy from Ironhide's tight little fist.

Ironhide let out a long, hefty sigh, his bottom lip stuck out. He liked chewing on that toy. It tasted good. Plus, it seemed right to chew on Megabum.

"Yuck! It stinks!" Sunny protested. He couldn't take it any longer. "Can I go wash it off?"

"Sure. I'll stay until you get back," the CMO chuckled, taking Ironhide from Sunny. That's just what he and Magnus had hoped for…payback.

"That's fowl!" Sides exclaimed stepping away from his brother and covering his face below the optics with both his hands.

"Might want to borrow some scented oils from Chromia or Elita to help with that smell, Sunny," Bumblebee laughed.

"Nah, I've got my own," Sunny seriously said then walked out.

Ratchet and Bumblebee looked at Sides with somewhat surprised expressions.

"He really does," Sides confirmed.

Optimus suddenly started choking and sobbing. He was feeling a bit neglected and his tank was gurgling loudly. He was really hungry now!

"Oops, someone's hungry," Ratchet smiled.

"How can you tell?" Bumblebee asked, picking up Optimus.

"Experience. Better hurry before he gets too upset. Sides, go get your brother to hurry it up. I don't want him taking all day and giving himself a complete make over just over a little puke on his armor. Wheeljack needs my help in the lab."

Sides handed Bee a bottle before going after his brother. He wasn't sure if Ironhide puking was going to be worth it for his brother to blackmail Hide. Ironhide may have done the puking. But Sunny was on the receiving end of said puke. Still, Sides could use it for himself to get back at either Ironhide or Sunny! Score!

"How's Jack doing?"

"I honestly don't know," Ratchet sighed as silence filled the room. "Wheeljack's not talking much which means he's too focused on his work."

He glanced over to see Optimus, cradled in Bee's arms, chugging down his bottle slowly, optics dimmed, optic covers half shut, pure content on his tiny faceplates. Ratchet was actually surprised he hasn't been summoned more often today. Perhaps more surprising was the concerned look on Sunny's face as he held Ironhide. He never would have guessed that Sunny, the crazier one of the twins, would be a good sparkling sitter. It boggled the processor just thinking about it.

Actually, Ratchet and the others had bets going to see how long the three young mechs would last before they begged to be relieved from sparkling duty. So far, Jazz was winning. He seemed fairly confident that Bumblebee and the twins could handle sparkling duty. Fragger! Jazz always won most of the bets! Ratchet couldn't remember the last bet he won against Jazz.

The bottle suddenly hit the floor, emptied.

(_**burp!**_)

"Optimus, you're ruining your reputation," Bumblebee gently chided.

Optimus merely blinked his optic covers innocently up at him and smiled. His tank was feeling much better now. Only something else was now bothering him.

"Nah, Optimus was always good at those," Ratchet commented. "He and Ironhide would have contests after getting over energized on high grade."

"Really? I've never seen Optimus drunk!" Bee exclaimed, moving Optimus in a better position, rubbing his back, trying to calm him down so he'd stop squirming.

"And you never will. For most of you, he has to appear as a strong leader at all times, he's Prime after all. For those few of us who've known him since he was youngling, he can relax and be himself. Of course, he hasn't done that as much since he bonded with Elita. She doesn't like it when he gets drunk."

"I…whoa!"

The lubricant was rather warm and a bit startling when it hit Bumblebee. But he was quick enough to move Optimus away from his body to avoid getting too wet.

"Don't aim him at me!" Ratchet yelped jumping back, narrowly avoiding the stream.

Bumblebee turned.

"Not the toys either!"

Bumblebee turned again, looking at the floor to see if any lubricant got on the toys.

"Oops," Optimus giggled.

"That's a nice ummm…steady stream you got going there Optimus," Sunny commented, making Bumblebee turn his head. Oh frag! "Do you mind, Bee?"

"Sorry, I didn't know you were there," Bumblebee winced re-aiming Optimus again. By then it was too late, he was done lubricating.

Sunny sighed looking down at his once clean armor as lubricant trickled down him. He let out a sharp hiss at his brother who literally fell onto the couch laughing! Oh, this was a good day for Sides! First his brother got puked on and then lubricated on.

Ratchet snickered to himself. This was so great! Finally, Sunny was getting what he deserved after all the pranks he's pulled on them. Prowl, Magnus, and Ratchet were hoping this situation will put an end to the pranks from Sunny. If not, everything was being recorded for blackmailing the mech later. Just a friendly reminder of what he had to endure.

"I'll be back," was all Sunny said as he stormed out.

After he left Bumblebee burst into laughter no longer feeling sorry for his friend. It was funny actually.

"Sides, you get to clean it up off the floor," Bumblebee ordered.

"Why me?" Sides asked.

"Because someone has to!" Bee countered. "And I'm not setting Optimus down on the floor until it's cleaned up. We don't need him crawling through it. Same goes for Hide. I can easily imagine him trying to taste it like he's tried everything else in here."

Yuck! Gross!

"Alright! I get the picture," he said then shuddered. That was a disgusting thought.

Bee then turned to Ratchet, glancing down at his wet, but not as wet as Sunny's, armor. "Ratchet…"

"Give him to me," he said, reaching out with a free arm while Ironhide was held tightly with the other.

"Be back in a minute," Bee said heading into the washroom. Unlike Sunny, Bee didn't care which washroom he used. They were all the same to him.

"And Ironhide says you don't have good aim," Ratchet chuckled to Optimus.

Ironhide beeped at the sound of his name. He'd been quietly chewing his fingers watching everything intently since he ejected the toy from his tank.

"You're a quiet sparkling, nothing like your mature self," he said to Hide. Optic covers blinked lazily up at the elder mech. "I can never get you to shut up!"

"All he does his grunt and make sparkling talk with Optimus," Sides commented while cleaning up the mess. "And chew on things. Oh and get this, Sunny is his favorite! He was actually purring while napping on my brother!"

Ratchet laughed loud and hard! Oh Ironhide was gonna just _**love**_ that when he gets back to normal! It was going to be so fun! Ratchet actually couldn't wait to tell his closest friend about all of this.

Hopefully Wheeljack was making progress for that to happen. All was for not if…

A sudden muffled explosion sounded. Bumblebee came running out of the washroom with a towel in his hand, still dripping wet from his shower. Sunny happen to be walking back into the play room and stopped in the doorway cocking his head to the side.

"That sounded like it came from Wheeljack's lab!" Sunny exclaimed.

A mere fraction of an astrosecond later the lights flickered out and two sparklings screamed out of fright in the darkness.

* * *

HAHA! I love cliffies as much as I love sparklings!


	24. Chapter 24

Sorry for it taking so long. I had a major rewrite for the second half of this chapter. That's what happens when your muse changes her fragging mind ruining all your plans! Hehe. I hope you enjoy it.

Again, thanks everyone for the reviews!

* * *

Ratchet, Bumblebee and the twins quickly turned their headlights on so the sparklings wouldn't be so scared. The instant the room brightened up Ironhide and Optimus grew quiet, tears rolling down their faceplates. They were still frightened. Ratchet could feel them both trembling in his arms, their little hands clinging tightly to his armor, wide optics darted around nervously.

Then suddenly another, more violent explosion sounded, this time shaking the floor beneath them. The crying started up louder than before and Ratchet found himself struggling to keep hold of two freaked out sparklings.

"Lita!" Optimus wailed, calling her through his bond to her as well. He had to find her. He needed her. Now! "LITA!"

"Bee! Take him! I can't handle two hysterical sparklings in my arms!" Ratchet said, barely able to keep a hand on Optimus as he was trying climb over Ratchet's shoulder.

Bumblebee firmly grabbed hold of Optimus' waist, prying him from Ratchet's shoulder. The sparkling was screaming over and over for Elita.

"Shh, she'll be here soon," Bee cooed, cradling Optimus tight against his chest, rubbing his small back.

"Sunny…" Ratchet started to say when Ultra Magnus and Chromia arrived.

"Is everyone here ok?" Magnus asked, his high beams almost blinding to the optics as he stood in the doorway.

Before anyone could answer, the emergency back up systems kicked on and the lights all came back on.

"Mia!" Ironhide cried desperately reaching for her the moment his optics spotted her.

"Wow, he can say something other than fragger," Sunny joked.

Chromia ignored him and quickly took Ironhide in her arms. He mewled, nuzzling his face against her chest armor, seeking any comfort she could give him.

"Not now, Sunny!" Magnus growled.

"Sorry, Sir."

The sparklings were crying but safe. That's all Magnus cared about. Ironhide was starting to quiet down now that Chromia had him. Optimus was repeatedly calling for Elita while Bumblebee was trying to calm him down. Nothing Magnus could do about it at the moment. Time for action.

"Chromia, Bee stay here. The rest of you with me," he ordered.

"Was the explosion in Wheeljack's lab?" Ratchet asked as they raced down the hall.

"I'm assuming as much since the power failure originated in the lab section of the base. And he's not responding to my hails."

"Let's hope he didn't damage himself too badly," Ratchet prayed.

"Let's hope he didn't turn himself into a sparkling," Sunny quipped and for once no one gave him any back talk about it.

They were all thinking it. The worst possible scenario - their leader, the weapons specialist, and their engineer stuck as sparklings. So many eons of knowledge could be lost if that was the case. They'd be in deep slag because so many Autobots relied on Optimus' guidance and strength. He was their Prime!

"Magnus!" came a shout.

The four mechs came to a stop at a junction to see Prowl and Elita racing towards them from the left.

"We heard an explosion!" Prowl exclaimed as he and Elita caught up to their friends.

"What's going on?" Elita quickly asked, her worry very apparent on her faceplates. "Where's Optimus? I can feel him calling for me."

"He's safe, Elita," Magnus answered. "Bumblebee's taking good care of him in the play room."

"We don't have time for this! We need to get to Wheeljack's lab!" Ratchet insisted. He knew any astrosecond wasted could potentially be life threatening if Wheeljack was badly damaged.

Elita wanted to go with them but her spark was aching to be near Optimus. He was desperate for her. Primus, his spark was strong.

"I'm going to go be with Optimus, he really needs me right now," Elita announced.

"Good, send Jazz when you get there," Prowl ordered. "He's ignoring my comlink. I swear that fragger is obsessed with sparklings!"

"Wait, Jazz didn't arrive with you?" Magnus asked.

"I let him race ahead. He was anxious to relieve Bee and the twins from sparkling duty," Prowl answered.

"Prowl, Jazz wasn't in the play room," Ratchet said, his anxiety levels just shot up at the prospect of possibly having to deal with two critically wounded mechs.

"Yeah, we haven't seen him since before he left with you on the mission," Sides added.

Prowl's spark lurched in his chest with fear and trepidation. He didn't hesitate to reach out to Jazz through their spark bond.

'Jazz! Jazz!'

No answer came back.

"Oh, no," Prowl gasped and then took off running for Wheeljack's lab.

The four mechs followed him, trying to keep up to the black and white Autobot. Prowl who was fast on his feet already was running much faster than he normally would. He lost Jazz once. He couldn't go through that again. He couldn't.

"**Prowl, slow down**!" Magnus shouted to no avail.

The normally, cool and calculating Prowl tore around the corner far ahead of them, desperate to reach his sparkmate. Magnus put it in overdrive, his long legged stride lengthened as he pulled away from the others. He had to catch up to his friend before he hurt himself. And as soon as he was within distance, Magnus jumped and tackled Prowl from behind.

"Get off!"

"Cool it, Prowl," Magnus said, pinning his friend to the floor. "It's too dangerous to just go running in there."

"I have to go in there. Jazz could be badly damaged."

"And we will," Magnus countered. "But remember, we need to proceed with caution here. This is Wheeljack's lab. There have already been two explosions. There could be more."

"And we have to make sure we stay clear of the sparkling maker machine," Sunny added when they caught up.

"Excellent point, Sunny," Sides agreed.

"Prowl, the fact that you haven't felt Jazz slipping away is a good sign," Ratchet smiled reassuringly. "So even if he is badly damaged, I can fix him."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I…I over reacted."

"It's ok. Don't worry about it," Magnus said, helping Prowl to his feet. "Let's go."

The five mechs hurried on until they reached the dimly lit hallway in the lab section of the base. A thick hazed filled the hallway. Not all the lights were on and those on were only at half power. With their headlights shining, they moved cautiously towards Wheeljack's lab.

"Vector sigma!" Magnus uttered under his breath.

He and the others could see the door to Wheeljack's lab was blown off and partially embedded in the opposite wall. And on the floor near it was…

"Wheeljack!" Ratchet shouted, pushing past Magnus and Prowl.

The others quickly followed Ratchet coming to a stop a few feet away to give the medic room to work. Wheeljack was a wreck lying face down in a pool of energon. While the main door to his lab was blown clean off the blast door had come down and severed his legs just below the knee joints.

"Get me some more light!" Ratchet ordered as he gently turned Wheeljack onto his back.

"There's a power relay panel nearby. I'll see about getting more power to the lights," Sides said then ran off as the others pointed their headlights down for Ratchet.

"How is he?" Magnus asked.

Except for his legs he didn't look that badly damaged. However, the fact that he was offline wasn't a good sign.

"He lost a lot of energon but he'll be ok," Ratchet sighed in relief. "Looks like he'll be off his feet for a few days. Uh, after I put them back on that is."

"I think I got the lights!" Sides shouted from down the hall.

The lights came on at full strength to reveal how worried Prowl was as he stared at the closed blast door. Such doors dropped automatically in order to keep a fire contained. The hall did smell like smoke from a fire.

"Sunny go get a stretcher from the Med Bay," Magnus ordered, keeping his optics on Prowl.

"Any other supplies, Ratchet?" Sunny asked.

"Oh…my legs," Wheeljack moaned weakly, his optics fluctuating until they came on dimly.

"Just hurry," Ratchet told Sunny. "Hey, Jack. I'll give you a pain inhibitor. Does…"

"Jazz!" the engineer exclaimed sitting up.

"What about him?" Prowl quickly asked,

"He's still in there," Jack grimaced and groaned in pain. "We were able to take cover before the first explosion. I knew the second one was going to be worse. Jazz…ow…"

"Easy, Jack. Lay back down," Ratchet insisted, gently pushing his friend back down to the floor.

Jack's optic covers closed briefly as Ratchet injected med's into his neck.

"Jazz…" Jack's started, panting heavily. "Jazz shoved me hard before I realized what was happening. Next thing I new the blast door came down, my legs hurt so badly that I blacked out. If he made it to cover…" Wheeljack's optics dimmed to the point of almost going completely dark, his energy was almost drained. "He might be ok."

After that Wheeljack lost consciousness again as his pain meds took affect. The others stood by anxiously as Ratchet tended to their friend.

"He's stable," Ratchet told them after a couple of minutes.

Prowl didn't hesitate. He tried punching in the override code to open the blast door.

The door didn't move.

The mech frantically punched in the code again.

Still, the same result.

"Sides! Can you boost more power to the doors?" Prowl shouted.

"No, those circuits are fried! I had to reroute power for the lights as it was."

"There's another way," Magnus told his friend calmly.

Prowl nodded, moving out of the way. The City Commander took a position directly in front of the door and squatted down. Thick strong fingers dug in between the floor and the door. He grunted and strained his servos but he was able lifted the thick heavy door up high enough until it locked into place.

The lab was pitch black except for a few smoldering hot spots scattered about. Magnus and Prowl had to turn on their headlights to see anything. There was a huge blast mark on the floor and ceiling in the center of the room. Lab equipment and tools were scattered. Some of the tools were imbedded in the walls and shelves.

"Frag! What a mess!" Sides exclaimed looking into the lab from behind Magnus.

Magnus shot him a menacing glare to keep quiet before turning his attention to Prowl. The mech's optics worriedly scanned the debris for his sparkmate.

"He's going to be ok. We'll find him," Magnus said confidently, resting a gentle hand on Prowl's shoulder.

"I'm picking up faint energy reading far right," Ratchet said as stepped over some debris to move inside.

"Let me go first," Magnus ordered, moving ahead of Ratchet. "In case of another blast I'll work as a better shield. We can't afford to lose you. Sides, stay with Jack."

"Once Sunny gets here with that stretcher take him to the Med Bay," Ratchet said. "He's in no danger."

"Oh, here's his legs!"

Two mechs turned to see Sides picking them up. Prowl moved further into the room. He was relieved that Wheeljack was going to be ok. And he was somewhat relieved that he could feel Jazz again. He was kicking himself for earlier. He knew better. Jazz would never ignore a comlink communiqué from Prowl on purpose. Never.

"They're a little toasty but look functional."

Ratchet moved back and scanned them to assess the damage. For once, a twin was right.

"Get them back to the…"

Debris falling stopped Ratchet in midsentence. He was about to say something when they all heard something moving in the area where the CMO was getting an energy reading. The three of them converged on the area. Prowl quickly yanked aside a twisted piece of metal that was in their way and tossed it across the room.

"Jazz?" Prowl called.

No reply verbally or through his spark link. But something moved. And it moved fast away from them.

"Over there!" Sides shouted from the doorway, his lights shining on the other side of the room. "I thought I saw something move."

Magnus was nearest, carefully climbing over debris, making his way to where Sunny had his head lights shining. A blur shot in and out of view. The City Commander didn't think, he just reacted and dove for it. Only he missed and whatever it was scurried fast into the corner.

"Stop! You're scaring him!" Prowl hissed at Magnus.

"Who?" he asked, getting to his feet.

Whatever it was darted away again from them.

"Over here!" Ratchet whispered.

"Back away…I think I can get him to come to me," Prowl said.

"You've got to be kidding me," Magnus scoffed in disbelief.

"Nope," Ratchet chuckled as he knelt down. "Come and look."

Magnus moved as quietly as he could to Ratchet's position and did as instructed. He knelt down and spotted what Ratchet was looking at.

"For frags sake!" Magnus exclaimed. "At this rate, we'll all be sparklings by the end of the week!"

"Jazz, come here," Prowl said in a soft warm tone.

The tiny silver sparkling trembled. Arms tucked in tight against his chest. Wide optics looked terrified as he huddled in a cubby hole beneath some debris.

"Jazz, its Prowl," the mech smiled, kneeling nearby but not daring to move any closer. "Remember me?"

Jazz cautiously looked up at the black and white mech. A warm pleasant feeling spread through his small chest. Curious, he poked at his chest softly. What made it do that?

'That's right, it's me,' Prowl said through their bond, placing a hand on his own chest armor.

Ever so slowly, Jazz crawled out from where he was hiding. He knew instinctively he could trust this mech but he wasn't sure about the other two nearby. His small blue optics kept darting from Prowl to the others as he moved crept onwards. Only once out in the open did he come to a stop, sitting on his tiny aft. Optic covers blinked slowly up at the mech smiling down at him.

Prowl made no sudden movements. He didn't want to risk Jazz darting back into the wreckage for cover. Not when he was so close to having his sparkmate safely in his anxious arms. So, with his palms up, he gradually moved his hands closer to Jazz.

A sudden, loud trill sounded from Jazz and he leapt up into Prowl's unexpected arms. The mech was so surprised that he jumped backwards on reflex, falling onto his back. Prowl quickly recovered though. Relief flowed through him as his arms wrapped gently around Jazz.

He smiled at Jazz who smiled back.

"So, Prowl…are you the mommy or the daddy?" Sunny asked.

The black and white mech turned his head, shocked to see everyone standing there, watching him, grinning like fools! Oh, this was so humiliating. Only Jazz could make things this embarrassing for Prowl!

Jazz started purring as he snuggled against Prowl's chest, making the mech sigh. Oh well, at least Jazz was where he belonged.

* * *

Up next: How will Optimus and Ironhide react to their new playmate?


	25. Chapter 25

My mused changed her mind again. This chapter is for those that like fluff, Prowl, and Jazz. Please enjoy.

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Elita had been trying to calm Optimus through their spark bond well before she reached to playroom to no avail. From the sounds of his wails resonating down the hallway just outside the door, it was apparent why. He was one inconsolable sparkling mech right now. Rushing into the play room, she found Bumblebee trying to do exactly that as he paced, gently rocking Optimus, patting his back, trying anything to calm him.

"LITA!" he screamed, spotting her and nearly flinging himself out of Bumblebee's arms straight for her.

Thanks to the scout's reflexes he held Optimus securely enough until Elita could take her sparkmate into her anxious arms.

"Shh, I'm here now," she cooed, wrapping both arms around the sparkling, holding him close.

Optimus hiccupped, choked, sobbed, hiccupped some more while trying to talk to her in sparkling talk. Small hands clinging to her chest armor, trying to get as close as possible to the warmth of her spark. Big tears streamed down his face.

"Oh I know it was bad but you need to calm down now, Optimus. You've got yourself all worked up," she smiled, kissing the top of his helm, stroking his back. He continued to hiccup and choke. But his wails began to die down in volume.

"The Earth saying is true, Mom always works best," Bumblebee smirked.

Elita playfully glared at him for the comment. Then she noticed how quiet the room was. Ironhide wasn't crying? She glanced over to see Chromia sitting on the couch with Ironhide in her arms, face buried in the crook of her shoulder.

"How's he doing?"

"He decided it was best to recharge," Chromia smiled, one hard caressing Hide's audio receptor.

"They didn't like the lights going out and the explosion just sent the both over the edge," Bumblebee said, dropping into the nearby chair suddenly feeling a bit exhausted from dealing with on overwrought sparkling. Frag! They're hard work!

"Don't sit down now," Elita ordered, continually stroking Optimus' back. "They may need you at Jack's lab. Apparently Jazz has gone missing and might have gotten caught up in that explosion."

"Oh no! We can't lose Jazz again," Bee exclaimed worriedly, getting to his feet and heading for the door.

As soon as he was out the door he transformed and raced through the halls. With as fast as he was on wheels, it didn't take him very long to reach the lab section of the base. There he transformed into his robotic mode, deciding to run the rest of the way. Prowl would most likely get upset since driving through the halls was forbidden and Bee didn't want the mech anymore upset than he already might be.

Up ahead, he spotted them all standing in the hall outside Wheeljack's lab. Sunny and Sides were gently placing Wheeljack on a stretcher while Ratchet was doing his usual griping at them. Bee visibly winced when he noticed the engineer was missing part of his legs. He knew all to well what that fell like having gotten his own legs blown off.

Hang on…where was Jazz? Magnus looked as if his cerebral processor was going to overheat from thinking too much. Bee couldn't see Prowl's face but his backside looked a lot stiffer than usual. And Ratchet was only concerned for Jack's care. However, none of them seemed too concerned about Jazz's absence.

Bumblebee was about to question what the frag was going on when Prowl turned slightly upon hearing the young mech's arrival. Bumblebee's mouth dropped wide open, his vocal processor glitched. He almost couldn't believe his optics! There, in Prowl's hands was a silver armored sparkling, feet dangling, blue optics worriedly looking around, small fists held close against his chest.

Jazz didn't like feeling so vulnerable and was trying to pull his legs up into his chest to feel more secure. Only he couldn't. The black and white mech's big hands that were firmly around his waist were in the way. Not knowing what to do about his predicament, Jazz started whimpering softly, his bottom lip trembled, tears filled his optics.

"Prowl, you should try cradling him in one arm," Ratchet suggested, noticing how uncomfortable Jazz looked. "He'll feel more comfortable. Sparklings don't like their feet dangly like that for too long."

"You might too feel more comfortable too have him next to your chassis," Sunny helpfully added with a smirk. This was so cool! He and his brother were so loving this! This was the first time they ever got the one up on Prowl. This was better than dirt on Ironhide!

"Yeah, Prowl, didn't you ever hold us when we were sparklings?" Sides teased.

"No," he replied flatly, situated Jazz in the crook of his left arm. Primus, this felt so awkward. What he said was and wasn't true. Sure he's held their hands to help them walk or lifted them up only to pass them to another. He'd actually never held a sparkling like this before! "I was responsible for making sure everyone followed a strict set of rules and regulations around you sparklings."

"Not sure it worked," Sunny giggled. "We're as deviant as ever."

"You're alive, aren't you," Prowl countered, staring down Sunny.

"Let me hold him! Can I?" Bumblebee jumped in finally got his vocal processor working. He moved up close, putting his face near Jazz. A little too close. The sparkling mech reared his head back, optic covers blinking rapidly. "What happened? Primus, he's so cute! And look at how tiny he is! He's gotta be a quarter of Hide's weight and what…half of Optimus height!"

Prowl groaned, rolling his optics at the young scout's enthusiasm. Honestly, Bumblebee was getting as bad as Jazz when it came to sparklings! When…or if, judging from the mess in Jack's lab all might be lost, these mechs are returned to their mature selves and Elita's gives birth to Optimus' sparkling then Prowl was going to have to work over time on making sure certain rules were obeyed.

"Please, can I hold him?!" Bee reiterated.

First loud booming noises now lots of loud voices all too close to him. It was all too much! Jazz held his arms in tight and curled up his legs, warbling and turning away from the yellow and black mech's face. He tried to press himself into the armor of the mech holding him, the mech whose loving spark made Jazz feel so safe.

Magnus recognized Jazz's distress levels were increasing. He'd seen it in all the sparklings just before they started their audio piercing cries. He couldn't handle that right now. His processor was aching already. Too many questions with no answers.

How long was Jack going to be out of commission? Did he find a solution to their problem yet? Who was next on the list to become a sparkling?

"Bumblebee, back off," Magnus chided, physically moving the young mech back. "Help Sunny and Sides get Wheeljack to the Med Bay. Ratchet, keep me informed of Wheeljack's recovery. I need to get to the command center, Teletran's beeping me."

"I'll go with you."

"No, Prowl, you need to stay with Jazz right now."

"But…"

"No buts. Magnus is right," Ratchet seriously said. "From my initial medical scan, Jazz has an elevated spark rate, his anxiety level is high. He's obviously been traumatized by whatever happened in there. You probably won't be able to set him down as you are his only source of security right now."

A small hand latched on tightly to part of Prowl's armor. Soft blue optics looked up him. There was recognition in them. And love. Only not the love from a lover but the unconditional love a sparkling often has for their creator or caretaker.

It was spark moving, literally for Prowl. His cerebral processor had often boggled unable to calculate why Jazz was so obsessed with sparklings. Looking into the optics of his sparkmate now he finally understood why and smiled.

Jazz smiled back.

"Let's get a moving…Pops!" Sunny snickered, making his brother and Bumblebee laugh as they started moving with Wheeljack in toe.

Prowl sighed in resignation, putting a protective hand around Jazz, holding him closer. Even Magnus let out a short laugh before quickly composing himself and following the others. There was no stopping Sunny now. Normally, that would just piss Prowl off and Sunny would be spending many, many long hours, or days, in the brig. But Prowl wasn't going to let anything ruin this moment with Jazz. He'll deal out the punishments later.

* * *

Up next: More daddy moments for Prowl or Jazz gets to play with the other sparklings or both. Playing it safe. Depends on what the readers want and what mood my muse is in.


	26. Chapter 26

This chapters dedicated to Prowl and Jazz fans. Next chapter the real fun begins.

* * *

Prowl had to laugh at the mortified looks on Sunny, Sides, and Bumblebee's faceplates as they ran for their very mechhood and the future of their interfacing with femmes. They thought the cranky CMO was bluffing until his saw blades roared to life. Prowl had to make sure to keep Jazz's optics covered so he wouldn't get frightened from all the commotion. He already felt his sparkmate's little body trembling the moment Ratchet raised his voice at the deviants.

Ratchet _**had**_ to threaten to remove vital parts of the three young mechs anatomies to get them out of his Med Bay. He had too much work to do and didn't have time for their antics nor did he want them to harass Prowl and Jazz any more than they already have. Ratchet even shut and locked the door just to make sure they stayed away too.

"Just get him comfortable on one of the Med Beds," Ratchet suggested, heading to where Wheeljack lay heavily sedated. "I need to tend to Wheeljack before I take a look at Jazz. There are some thermal blankets in the storage closet over there if you want one for him. It might make him feel more secure as well."

"Thank you, I'll do that," Prowl nodded politely.

With Jazz still nestled snuggly in the crook of his arm, Prowl marched over to the designated cabinet and pulled out a thermal blanket. Then he headed for the nearest Med Bed and carefully sat Jazz down on his mini-pint size aft. The mech was being extra careful. Bumblebee was right, Jazz was such a tiny sparkling compared to the two brutes called Optimus and Ironhide.

(_beep?_)

"It's just a blanket," he said, holding it up for Jazz to see. "Nothing scary about it."

Jazz looked apprehensive so Prowl slowly unfolded the blanket, making sure not to make any sudden movements. It actually tortured his spark to know Jazz was in that room during the fire or whatever was going on after the explosion, presumably terrified, not knowing where to go with no one to turn to. He was going to do anything to keep Jazz calm.

"See," Prowl smiled. "Just a blanket. It's soft too." He rubbed a corner of the blanket against his cheek, watching Jazz's reaction. "Would you like to feel it?"

He held that same corner of the blanket before Jazz. The sparkling looked at the blanket then up to Prowl. Optic covers blinked slowly, a quizzical expression on his faceplates.

"Go on. It won't hurt you, I promise."

Ever so slowly, Jazz leaned forward and rubbed his cheek against it, mimicking what the big black and white mech had done. Oh, wow! It was so soft! Wide, surprised optics looked up at Prowl, a small mouth dropped open.

(_warble!_)

"See, I told you," Prowl chuckled softly.

Jazz giggled wildly. Tiny hands enthusiastically pulled on the blanket until all of it was bunched up on the bed. Then he hugged bundled blanket nuzzling his face in it, giggling and blowing raspberries.

Prowl smiled contently, meticulously wrapping part of the blanket Jazz wasn't hugging around his small frame. It wasn't easy covering a moving target but patience and persistence prevailed. He even managed to get Jazz to lie down.

Only small feet bucked and kicked the blanket off. Jazz sat up and beeped up at him, with attitude.

"You don't want to be covered up?" he asked, leaning his face close.

Ratchet had looked up from his work when he heard the familiar sounds of muffled raspberries, a sign of a happy sparkling. A smirk spread across his faceplates as quietly observed Prowl interact with Jazz. He'd managed to look up just in time to see Prowl lean down and gently pressing his forehead against Jazz's.

Miniature fingers wrapped around part of the blanket and rubbed it against Prowl's faceplates. The mech's optics dimmed as he smiled fondly down at the sparkling before him. And Jazz smiled back at him.

A spark warming moment for anyone to see.

And it was such a rare display of emotion for Prowl. He always had a calm demeanor no matter what the situation was, relaxing with friends or during an intense battle with Decepticons. Only raised his voice at the twins, but then so did everyone.

"I always new you weren't such a tight aft," Ratchet commented, after he has quietly traversed across the Med Bay.

"Jazz could always bring out the best of me," he replied, straightening back up but not taking his optics off Jazz, a hand smoothed over the top of the sparkling's head making him purr softly.

"You would make a good father."

Prowl snorted, "Please, don't tell Jazz that when he gets back to normal. He's obsessed with sparklings enough as it is. He doesn't need anyone giving him ideas."

Jazz turned his attention back to blowing raspberries into the blanket, rolling on his back and kicking tiny feet up in the air. Ratchet poked a finger at Jazz's belly making the sparkling giggle.

"Still," Prowl sighed, keeping a protect hand near the sparkling to ensure he didn't roll of the bed in his excitement. "I finally understand why he's obsessed with them. Their love is pure, untainted, unwavering. I never really experienced that until now."

"What did you expect when the twins and Bumblebee were sparklings?" Ratchet laughed. "You were their least favorite because you always caught them doing something they weren't supposed to. To them, you ruined their fun. Pfft, they still think that do this day."

"None of us knew how to handle sparklings," he countered, sad optics meeting the CMO's. "I did what I thought was best to protect them, even if that meant from themselves. It didn't bother me that they'd run from me into Optimus, Ironhide, or Jazz's arms. As long as they were safe I was content."

"And now?" Ratchet asked as Prowl focused back on Jazz.

"I'm not sure," he whispered. "I…wish for…_**more**_."

Ratchet laid a reassuring hand on Prowl's slumped shoulder.

"Life is full of second chances, my friend. That little bundle of joy is your chance."

Prowl nodded, his spirits lifting up a bit.

"Now, let's see how Jazz is doing," Ratchet said, lifting Jazz up to exam him.

To both their surprise, Jazz screeched loudly in protest, kicking his feet wildly, wiggling his body trying to break from Ratchet's hands. Why did they do that? He was having fun?!

"Jazz, that's not very nice. Behave," Prowl softly scolded.

"Don't worry," Ratchet chuckled, ignoring the sparkling's protest. He started a more thorough medical scan while his optics checked for visible injuries. "I've dealt with worse than this…from mature mechs. Quite recently actually."

Prowl held a laugh in. He had to.

He'd only seen it once, maybe twice, in all the time Prowl knew Jazz. But he could never forget that scowl. Especially now. Only difference was that it looked more adorable on a sparkling Jazz as he glared at Ratchet.

Jazz growled to get his point across as the CMO slow turned him around and examined his backside. Silver hands strained and Jazz grunted to break from the big mech's grasped.

"Here, take your brat," Ratchet finally smiled. "He's fine. He's obviously feeling better now."

Of course the instance Jazz was back in Prowl's arms he was the picture of pure innocence, smiling happily up at the black and white mech.

"So…what do I do with him now?" Prowl asked.

"Take him to meet Optimus and Ironhide. And do it now before Bumblebee and the twins bring those femmes and their little brutes into my med bay to see Jazz. I have a lot of work to do. I want Jack up on his feet later today."

"Very well. Please, keep me informed of Wheeljack's progress," Prowl said then started to leave.

Jazz started beeping frantically, little hands reaching back and grabbing in the air.

"What? Oh, you want this?"

Small arms opened wide in anticipation as Prowl grabbed he blanket and then hugged it tightly. Again, Prowl smiled contently. He was going to have to watch himself in front of the twins. They were probably going to record and document everything Prowl did with sparkling Jazz and use as ammo later.

"Come on Jazz. Let's go see if you can outshine Optimus and Ironhide in the cuteness department, like you usually do."


	27. Chapter 27

Thanks so much for the reviews and for everyone reading this story. It has been a blast to write. I hope this chapter lives up to par with the others. It's getting tougher and tougher to write! LOL. Anyway, please enjoy the sparkling mayhem.

* * *

**The Playroom**

With his favorite bot toy in one arm, Optimus sat happily on the floor playing with the toys. He felt safe enough having Lita in the same room with him. She'd protect him from those loud noises and the darkness.

"Chromia, Ironhide loves you. He will give you what you want. He's told Optimus often how he'd do anything for your happiness."

"Really?" the trigger happy femme questioned, her downsized mech still recharge on the couch beside her. He'd gotten to heavy to hold. He was like dead weight as he recharged.

"We'll wear him down. Even I have to get Optimus to sit on him while we convince him to get sparking with you."

"Thanks, I…"

A runaway freight train called Bee, Sunny, and Sides came bursting in and were quickly derailed by the sparkling that was on the floor and in their path. Bumblebee had abruptly stopped to avoid trampling Optimus. Only the twins weren't as quick to stop not that they saw Optimus until after they collided with Bee. Their collective momentum cause a three car pile up on the floor, narrowly missing Optimus.

"Bee!" Optimus clapped and giggled. He wanted to see that again!

"Hi, Optimus," Bumblebee sighed in relieve despite the fact he was feeling squished with the twins weight pressing down on him. "Guys…get off! But be careful."

"You three need to be careful," Elita snapped, picking up Optimus before he accidentally got crushed.

"Sorry Elita," Bumblebee grunted.

"We had to tell you!" Sunny said excitedly as he got to his feet.

"You're not going to believe what happened!" Sides added just as excitedly as his brother helped him up.

"Ratchet locked us out so we couldn't get back into the Med Bay to get incriminating pictures," Sunny laughed, he and his brother helping Bumblebee to his feet. "We tried but our override codes didn't work. Magnus even kicked us out of the command center when we tried to override the door locks from there."

"What happened? Is Wheeljack ok?" Chromia asked, noticing the crash didn't disturb Ironhide. He was still snoring heavily, lying on his back, mouth wide open.

"Jack's gonna be ok. Ratchet has to reattach his legs," Bumblebee said.

"Did you find Jazz?" Elita asked.

"You could say that!" Sunny laughed. "Jazz got turned into a sparkling!"

"You're kidding me," the femme commander gasped, setting Optimus back on the floor.

"No kidding about it," Sunny smirked, shaking his head. "You should have been there for the tender, spark warming moment between Prowl and Jazz in the hallway."

"You've got to see him, Elita!" Bee grinned. "He's so cute and tiny!"

"Bee you've been hanging out with Jazz too much," Chromia commented. "You're starting to sound just like him."

Bee just grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, we all knew Prowl had a spark stuffed up that tight aft of his. But seeing is believing!"

"As eloquent as ever, Sunny."

Everyone turned at the sound of Prowl's voice to see him in the doorway with one tiny silver, bright blue optic sparkling resting comfortable in the crook of the big mech's arm. Jazz was clutching onto a corner of the blanket while he slowly looked around the room. His little legs barely dangled from Prowl's arm.

"Primus, look at how small he is!" Elita exclaimed moving closer.

"See, I told you," Bumblebee added, starting to move closer too.

"Hang on," Prowl warned. "Don't crowd him. He's much better than before but I don't want him scared again."

"Jeez Prowl, don't be so overprotective," Chromia said, moving to Elita's side.

"I'm sorry but you weren't there," he explained, defending his actions. "You couldn't feel how terrified he was. Then Magnus only made it worse when he tried to tackle Jazz."

"Well Magnus can be a terrifying beast to any mech or femme depending on his mood," Elita snickered. "But we will respect your wishes."

"I'm hoping meeting Optimus and Ironhide will help him come out of his shell some more. You know, be more like the Jazz we're used to."

"Let's find out then," Elita smiled moving back and kneeling down beside Optimus who had gone back to playing with his toy. "Optimus, Prowl brought a new friend for you to play with."

Prowl moved across the room, gently setting Jazz, blanket and all, on the floor a few feet from Optimus. Of course Optimus watched all of Prowl's actions intently the moment he saw the silver sparkling.

(_whistle?_)

"That's Jazz," Elita told Optimus as he looked up at her quizzically.

He handed her his toy bot then started crawling over to the silver sparkling mech. Jazz wasn't sure about this. He dropped the blanket and quickly crawled between Prowl's legs, hiding beneath the crouched mech. Just to be safe, Jazz held onto the armor of the black and white's left foot.

"Optimus, be patient," Elita said and obediently Optimus stopped crawling and sat down.

"It's ok, Jazz," Prowl cooed, a gentle hand held before him to take. Jazz mewled, rubbing his face in the palm of Prowl's hand. He put his other hand behind, trying to encourage Jazz. "That's Optimus. Do you want to play with him?"

Jazz look up and with an emphatic head shake said no.

"Are you sure? I think you might hurt Optimus' feelings if you don't go play with him."

Optimus didn't understand why his name kept being mention or why Jazz didn't want to play with him. But one of Optimus' inherent characteristics was to never give up. So, he crawled quickly to where the toys were at, grabbed one and crawled over towards Jazz.

The silver sparkling mech moved behind Prowl's foot and watched the blue, red and silver sparkling set something down close by. He crawled of grabbed something again and came back setting it down. Jazz watched Optimus repeat this process several times until finally he stopped and spoke in sparkling talk to Jazz pointing at the pile of objects.

Elita smiled proudly down at her mech. He always had a generous spark. Always. She prayed to Primus that their offspring would inherit this trait from their father. It was one of the reasons she fell in love with him.

"I don't know, Jazz. Optimus is racking up the cuteness points right now," Sunny joked.

"I must say it's nice to notice some of their mature uniqueness is also present in them as sparklings," Prowl smiled.

"Yes, Optimus has always been cute," Elita couldn't help but say making every chuckled.

"I meant his generosity," Prowl smiled up at her.

"Shh…look!" Bee whispered, pointing.

During some of the chatter between the matures, Jazz had cautiously crawled out from hiding and over to the pile of toys Optimus left. Not really knowing what to do with them, he grabbed one and crawled over to where Optimus was sitting and set it down. Then he crawled back and grabbed another toy and returned that one to Optimus too.

Well, Optimus was going to have none of that. He grabbed a toy and took it right back. And then another. Meanwhile Jazz was doing the same thing. Soon after that the giggle, the screeching, the high pitched whistles, and the warbling started as they chased each other.

Prowl and Elita moved away as it was apparent the two sparklings were having a rip roaring time. So much so that Jazz giggled hysterically even after Optimus pancaked him on the floor. Jazz may be tiny but he was just as tough. And absolutely adorable when he tried to tackle Optimus back only to get dragged around the room.

Meanwhile, all the noise finally dragged Ironhide out of recharge. He sat up to find he was alone on the couch and immediately noticed the silver sparkling playing with Optimus. Hide quickly climbed down onto the floor and headed over to check out the new guy.

"No, let them sort it out themselves," Elita whispered to Prowl when he made a move towards Jazz.

The black and white mech was a bit worried because Jazz was so small. The top of his head barely reached Optimus' shoulder as the two sat side by side. Getting flattened by Optimus was one thing but Prowl was concerned about poor tiny Jazz getting demolished between the two larger sparklings.

Hide steadily crawled over and ingratiated himself upon the other two in his own brute manner with a heavy thud and grunt.

"Hide, no!" Optimus yelled, pushing the black sparkling off his leg.

But Ironhide could be one stubborn mech. This was one of those instances. He crawled around Optimus to get a better look at the silver mech. Jazz, who was already hiding behind Optimus' bulk, was not liking this and too a direct path away from Ironhide.

Of course, Optimus didn't appreciate Jazz climbing up and almost sitting on his head! But before Optimus could reach up, Jazz nimbly dropped down avoiding grabbing hands from the two other sparklings. He learned quickly that he was faster than Ironhide and could easily stay out of his reach.

However, Optimus didn't like them crawling in circles around him and took matters into his own hands. He crawled, blocking Ironhide's path. Hide simply adjusted his course. But then quickly found himself face first on the floor with Optimus weight bearing down on him.

"I've seen that move on Megabum a few times," Sunny chuckled.

"I've seen Bumblebee do that move on you too, Sunny," Sides smirked.

"Optimus, play nice," Elita said down to her mech.

Optimus ignored her, punching Ironhide in the back of his head. Hide bucked him off and retaliated by throwing a head butt, hitting Optimus squarely in the chest. The growling started after that and the fight was on faster than any of the mature mechs and femmes could believe!

"No…let them be for a moment," Prowl suggested, having seen sparklings fight before. "The twins used to fight like this every other day. It's mostly growling. They'll stop shortly after the initial burst of energy."

Jazz sat wide optic in total shock. He didn't know what to do. Then his optics got even wider when the Optimus-Hide wrecking ball suddenly made a sharp turn, coming straight towards him.

It all happened so fast that Prowl reacted _**after**_ Jazz had already burst into tears from getting steam rolled over by the two brawling sparklings. But that was only the beginning of the crying. An audio receptor shattering howl came from Optimus when Ironhide bit down hard on the tip of one of his antenna.

"Can we intervene now?" Elita questioned, worried for Optimus.

"**Hide, drop him**!" Chromia shouted, cutting Prowl off before he could even answer Elita's question. The femme wasn't going to tolerate her sparkmate acting like a wild animal. "**NOW!**"

Ironhide obediently opened his mouth, releasing his grip on Optimus. Then he sat still waiting for Chromia to pick him up. He knew he was in trouble as she stomped over. He glanced worriedly at Optimus who lay face down wailing into the floor.

"Wow, were we that bad?" Sunny asked Prowl as Elita gently lifted Optimus off the floor.

"You never bit each other but the fists did fly quite often," Prowl answered.

"So, no different from what they do now when they fight," Bumblebee smirked.

Sunny punched his friend in the arm.

"Please, that's probably what gave them the idea," Sides scolded his brother.

"What?" Prowl snapped. "You were fighting in front of them."

"Just a little brawl. No dents," Sunny said. "And definitely no biting."

"Prowl, go easy on them," Elita said, rocking Optimus gently his crying continuing. "Optimus and Ironhide always got into good fights as mature mechs. Chromia and I were expecting it. I just wasn't prepared for biting."

"Sorry, Elita," Chromia apologize. "I would have stepped in sooner if I knew he was going to do that."

"Don't worry. Looks like some teeth marks. I'll have Ratchet check him out."

"Hide, that wasn't nice! Tell Optimus you're sorry," Chromia ordered, holding him near Optimus.

Optimus looked at Hide through teary optics and didn't hesitate. He flung a fist at Ironhide's nose. Now Hide was crying.

"Optimus!" Elita half laughed, half chided. "You little fragger!"

"Mechs will be mechs," Chromia smiled, rocking Hide. "See that's what you get for biting someone."

Just then Magnus came rushing in and not to observe sparkling play time or to be a referee during a sparkling brawl.

"Get the sparklings in the med bay with Ratchet," he quickly ordered. "We've got incoming. _**BIG**_ incoming!"

* * *

Up next: I'm not going to tell ya! Wahahaha! I'll just let your imaginations run wild! :P


	28. Chapter 28

Ok, I guess it's time I put your imaginations to rest. We'll find out who or what is coming towards the Autobot base.

Thanks again for those reading the story! I love the reviews to read peoples reactions. Thanks.

Now, on with the show.

* * *

Elita headed straight for the Med Bay. Optimus was quiet, holding onto her tightly as if sensing something was wrong. Prowl was behind her with Ironhide and Jazz, both sparklings were quiet as well. Chromia, along with Magnus and the others, head outside the base to take up their defense positions.

"Set them down over there!" Ratchet ordered pointing to a designated med bed near by.

"Can you look at Optimus' antenna?" Elita requested, carefully setting Optimus on different med bed just incase he and Hide weren't done fighting. "Ironhide bit it. There is some leakage. Please, be careful, his antennas are _**very**_ sensitive."

Ratchet choked back a laugh. Even Prowl snickered to himself as he set Jazz and Ironhide down.

"Ok, I'll be _**very**_ gentle," Ratchet chuckled then got immediately slapped across the faceplates. "OW!"

"Yeah keep laughing over there too…Prowlie!" she snapped. "Just keep in mind, whether or not Optimus remembers any of this once he's returned to normal, _**I**_ will most certainly remember. And will have words with anyone who tries to embarrass him over any of this."

"Lita," Optimus sniffled, one hand up gingerly rubbing his damaged antenna just below the bite marks.

"You be a good mech and listen to Ratchet," she said, kissing the top of his head. "I'll be back soon. Prowl, we have to go."

"Take care, Jazz. I'll be back as soon as I can," he smiled, caressing the sparkling's cheek with a finger. Then he patted Ironhide on the head. "You too, Hide. No more biting."

Both sparklings sat very still, wide optics, unsure of what was going on.

"Go, I've got everything under control!" Ratchet ordered.

Elita kissed Optimus one more time before rushing out with Prowl. They sprinted as fast as they could through the halls to get to their positions.

According to Teletran the target or targets were heading for the designated landing coordinates just outside the base. The same coordinates Optimus provided in a message he transmitted on all Autobot frequencies. However, while Autobots may have received this transmission, Magnus and the others had to be prepared for any Decepticon that might have intercepted the communication as well.

"How did you know my nickname?" Prowl asked Elita as they turned a corner. "Only Jazz calls me that."

"Jazz and I had a _**long**_ talk over high grade one evening way back on Cybertron while you and Optimus were tied up in diplomatic negotiations over Kaon."

"Hmm, I'm afraid to ask what else he said about me the little fragger."

"Don't worry. Your secrets are safe with me," she smirked just as they ran out the entrance.

"Do we know how many targets?" Elita asked as they joined Magnus and the others.

"Difficult to say. It's either one huge target or a bunch of little ones close together," he answered.

Magnus didn't like not knowing but there wasn't anything he could do about it. He didn't like the fact that Teletran was still far from being what they were used to back on Cybertron. Still, it was better than nothing and was able to give them enough of a warning to prepare.

"THERE!" Bumblebee pointed.

Everyone looked up and zoomed in as far as they could with their optics to see the massive fireball as it penetrated the upper atmosphere. Chunks of debris flaked off, rapidly burning up and disintegrating into nothingness.

"There are two of them!" Sunny shouted.

"Are you sure?" Magnus asked.

"Definitely two distinct trails now," Prowl confirmed. "One appears to be guiding the other. But…now their separating more for the landing."

"They're fraggin huge!" Sunny remarked. "Bigger than you, Magnus!"

"Be ready everyone," Magnus ordered. He could see the two targets now. There were separating for a landing as Prowl suggested. "They have not acknowledged any of my communications so I have no idea who we're dealing with."

There were only a few Decepticons bigger than him. And a few Autobots. For the lives of everyone here, and especially the three sparklings inside the Med Bay, Magnus prayed it was two Autobots. They couldn't really afford a battle with the Decepticons right now when three of their best warriors were down and out.

A sonic boom ripped across the sky and the fireballs descended lower and lower. Magnus and the others raised their weapons and took cover. Each of them knew a 'Con would transform well before touching down.

Only the fireballs didn't transform. They continued their journey, silently blazing a trail across the late afternoon sky. Until finally they both landed, one and then the other in the designated coordinates. Dirt spewed up into the air. The ground vibrated from the heavy thudded impacts. The Autobots approached cautiously weapons aimed and primed.

"**Identify yourselves**!" Magnus ordered.

Almost immediately one orb transformed to into a tall, slender protoformed mech. The second orb did the same; he was a bulkier mech that stood as tall as the first. The heavy mech immediately dropped to one knee.

"Don't shoot! We mean you know harm!" the first mech quickly said, arms raised in surrender. "Our communicators were knocked out by a fragging solar flare! That's why we haven't been able to contact you."

Magnus lowered his weapon. He knew that voice. It matched the one scientist in the known universes who was taller than him.

"Skyfire?"

"Ultra Magnus? You look…different. Yes, it is I, Skyfire," he smiled and turned back to his traveling companion. "Please, is Ratchet here? Grimlock needs medical attention."

"Me Grimlock don't need medical attention. Long trip made Grimlock tired. Need to recharge."

"Still, it couldn't hurt to get Ratchet to check you out," Prowl said, seeing that Grimlock probably could use one of Ratchet's infamous energy boost injections.

"Prowl! Thank Primus you made it to Earth," Skyfire exclaimed. "We thought you had been killed by the Decepticons."

"I nearly was. I was taken prisoner for a short time but managed to escape shortly after I received Optimus' transmission," he answered Skyfire.

"Who else has made to Earth?" Skyfire asked.

"Elita is our most recent," Magnus answered. "Chormia, Wheeljack, myself all arrived within a month of Optimus transmission."

"Hi, Skyfire," Elita smiled, coming up and giving the big mech a hug. "Glad you made it. You too Grimlock."

"Glad to make it too," Grimlock grunted, returning the hug.

"Remember me big guy?"

"Yes, I remember. Grimlock got shot in aft coz he made Chromia mad one time."

"I'm glad you made it to Earth safely," she chuckled, giving him a big hug.

"What about us? Don't we get some love?" Sunny asked.

"As you can see," Prowl sighed. "The twins managed to make it to Earth too. All on their own I might add"

"Hey!" Sunny yelped.

"We're glad you made it, Skyfire," Bumblebee smiled, shaking the big mech's hand. "Wheeljack could probably use your help."

"I'm always eager to help where I can. Where's Optimus? I have information for him."

"Yes, where is Optimus Prime! Me want to see him," Grimlock said anxiously, rising to his feet.

"That's kind of what Wheeljack needs your help with," Prowl answered solemnly.

Skyfire gave him a puzzled look.

"Just…follow us and you'll see," Magnus said.

"Have you seen any others?" Prowl asked as they entered the base.

"Not since…not since Cybertron was completely destroyed," Skyfire hesitantly answered.

The others gasped, even Magnus and Prowl who were always so composed.

"I was part of the team that discovered the instability in Cybertron's core," he continued. "The Decepticons were desperate for energy and sought to take if from our home. It was only a matter of time before the instability started a chain reaction that…destroyed our home planet. We sent out a signal on all Autobot frequencies to not head home and to seek refuge elsewhere."

"I can't believe Cybertron…our home is gone," Chromia spoke softly, tears in her optics.

"It was already gone when the All Spark was destroyed," Elita said, wiping away her own tears. "Without the All Spark our home wouldn't be rebuilt. Besides, Optimus' message said this was our home now. As long as we're together and remember our ways we will always be home."

"If more come," Bumblebee sighed. "There are so few of us."

"They will come," Skyfire smiled optimistically. "It's what I want to talk to Optimus about. While I have not seen any Autobots other than Grimlock on my journey to Earth, I have received a few communications. More are coming."

"Where are the other Dinobots, Grimlock?" Magnus asked. "Are they coming?"

"Don't want to talk about other Dinobots," he grunted, his head hanging. "Want to see Optimus Prime."

Magnus looked to see the sad face on Skyfire.

"_I found him trying to repair their broken bodies on a destroyed Decepticon base in the Gamma Quadrant,_" Skyfire said over a private comlink with Magnus. "_There was nothing I could do…they were beyond repair. If not for the fortuitous message received from Optimus I never would have gotten Grimlock off that moon. It was Optimus' message that gave him strength to keep going._"

"_That doesn't surprise me, there were few warriors Grimlock respected_," Magnus replied._ "Optimus being one of them. I'm not sure how he's going to respond to Optimus' current condition._"

Magnus lay a comforting hand on Grimlock's slumped shoulder.

"Everything will be ok, my friend," he smiled.

Grimlock numbly nodded his head. Magnus was a good warrior, a trustworthy mech. But he wasn't their leader. Grimlock would feel much better hearing things from Optimus Prime. The strong leader always knew how to talk to Grimlock.

"Everyone doesn't need to be here," Prowl said as they reached the Med Bay doors. "Bumblebee, you and the twins head to the Command Center."

For once Sunny kept his mouth shut and did as he was told. Actually, he and Sunny looked a bit depressed learning about their home world. Hopefully, Optimus can settle things down once he's returned back to normal. They could really use his strength and guidance right now.

"Now, Grimlock, Optimus has changed how he looks," Elita explained. "But he's still the same Optimus. And…well he's had a little accident too."

"But he's fine!" Magnus quickly added noticing how distress Grimlock suddenly got.

"It'll be ok, big guy," Chromia smiled, patting Grimlock's back. "The same accident happened to Ironhide and Jazz so Optimus isn't all alone. Ok?"

"Ok," he mumbled.

Magnus and Prowl exchanged a glance before opening the door. This was either going to work out fine or be really bad. Both mechs knew they might have to subdue Grimlock if he went berserk.

The doors opened and they all walked in to find Ratchet working on the finishing touches of one of Wheeljack's leg. The engineer was still in a medicated recharge and would remain that way until Ratchet finished the surgery on the other leg.

On a nearby med bed Ironhide and Jazz looked like they passed out from drinking energon bottles. A completely empty bottle lay near Hide as he recharged in his usual on the back mouth open position, snoring softly. Jazz lay curled up, recharging on his side, one thumb in his mouth and one small arm wrapped around a half filled bottle. On a separate bed sat Optimus still suckling away on his bottle, a medical wrap on the tip of his damaged antenna.

"This is Ironhide and Jazz," Prowl said resisting the urge to pick up Jazz. He looked so adorable all curled up with is bottle. Prowl just wanted to hug him!

"How fascinating!" Skyfire exclaimed moving closer for a better look. He carefully examined Ironhide and Jazz without touching them. "They look like sparklings."

"They are sparklings except the still have their armor," Ratchet replied.

"Astonishing! How did this happened?!"

"Wheeljack activated an alien device and inadvertently turned Optimus into a sparkling," Prowl explained. "Ironhide did it to himself when he activated the device thinking he was turning it off. And we're not sure how it happened to Jazz. There was an explosion in Jack's lab. When we went in, that's how we found Jazz."

"Wheeljack has been trying to figure out a way to change them back," Magnus said.

"Of course, whatever I can do to help. I will assist with Wheeljack's repairs as well."

"Thanks, Skyfire," Ratchet smiled. "I could use the help."

"This is Optimus," Elita said, leading Grimlock to her sparkling, sparkmate as Ratchet and Skyfire began finishing repairs on Wheeljack. She noticed Magnus and Prowl remaining close by.

Grimlock stared intently at the small Autobot Elita told him was Optimus Prime. The big mech leaned down and even sniffed the little mech.

"That not Optimus Prime," Grimlock commented. "That one puny little Autobot!"

"Trust me, it's Optimus," Elita smiled. "Optimus, say hello to Grimlock."

Optimus pulled the bottle from his mouth and stared up at the large mech with wide optics. Everyone else remained quiet and alert, waiting to see what would happen.

(_**BURP!**_)

Grimlock blinked in surprise at the puny Autobot's greeting. Then he transformed into his dinoform and did a greeting of his own. He let loose a loud roar that shook the room and then stared down at the little mech. Magnus and Prowl made a move to pull Grimlock back if they had to.

Elita didn't move. She knew Grimlock better than most having interacting with him because of how close he and the other Dinobots were to Optimus. She knew he wasn't being aggressive at the moment.

After a long astrosecond, Optimus rolled on his back, giggling, grabbing his feet. He thought it was the funniest thing ever.

"Must be Optimus Prime. He always laugh when Grimlock roar in his face!" Grimlock smiled.

* * *

Not sure what people were expecting, I hope you liked this chapter. Remember this story is mainly about the sparklings so I don't want to stray from them for too long. Also, I'm trying not to get too serious as this is meant to be a funny story.

Up next: Wheeljack will be whole again. The sparklings have a new playmate.

slag! I forgot! For those reading MBRS (Kaceystar story) there is a poll up to vote on Orion's alt form. Go vote!


	29. Chapter 29

Sorry about killing off the Dinobots. Blame my muse! She did it! Besides, if all three Dinobots were on the base the sparklings would get demolished within two seconds!

As I've said before, this story is AU and meant to be funny. I needed to bring the character I felt who would help with the comedy, because thanks to all the readers it's getting increasingly difficult to come up with funny and cute sparkling stuff! LOL.

So, on with chapter 29. I can't believe its chapter 29! You people are killing me, but in a good way! Please, enjoy.

* * *

**The Next Morning**

_**Prowl and Jazz's quarters**_

Prowl stood in silence watching Jazz recharging. He had never actually done such a thing before. His duty often dictated his actions. Because he was second in command he had to be up before his Prime, and thus well before his sparkmate, to prepare for his morning meet with his commander. Even on Earth that has not changed for Prowl.

Yet, staring down at the tiny silver mech curled up and wrapped up in a thermal blanket, Prowl felt an emptiness within. A void that was desperate to be filled. Something he knew that no amount of duty could ever make go away. He couldn't find the logic in this feeling nor could he see the solution. But sooner or later it would have to be addressed.

A smiled spread across the black and white's faceplates as the sparkling in the recharge crib started to move. Nothing but happy thoughts filled his processor. Even in the early stages of waking Jazz was reaching out to Prowl through their spark bond, the unconditional love resonated deep within.

Jazz's optic covers slowly opened. His optics flickered on. A soft yawn sounded as he opened his mouth wide. Small arms and legs uncurled as he stretched. He rolled onto his back. His bright blue optics locked onto Prowl and he smiled feeling the same gentle, loving warmth within him he felt every time he was with the big mech.

"What am I going to do, Jazz?"

Jazz warbled questioningly, cocking his head to one side.

"Yeah, I don't know either," Prowl sighed, reaching down and lifting his sparkmate up out of the blanket. "Come on, it's bath time for you. All that playing around with Optimus and Ironhide scuffed up your armor."

(_beep?_)

"Yup, you are one filthy little bot," he said walking into the wash room. He turned on the cleaning solvent, adjusted the temperature and filled the sink. "Ironhide can pull of scuff marks but not my Jazz."

(_giggle_)

"You think that's funny?" he smirked, poking a finger at Jazz's belly and making his giggle wildly.

Prowl lowered Jazz into the sink, making sure to take his time because he didn't know how sparkling Jazz was going to react. He'd bathed a mature Jazz before on a number of occasions but this was completely different.

At first Jazz wasn't too sure what was going on. The warm liquid felt different. Prowl's voice had a calming effect on him as he talked to him. Jazz didn't understand most of what Prowl was telling him but he could feel the love within him and he relaxed. Prowl would never do anything to harm him.

Quickly, but efficiently and gently, Prowl used a small cleaning rag to wipe Jazz's armor. Only when he was satisfied that his sparkmate was presentable enough did he removed him from the warm liquid. Jazz immediately trilled and trembled.

"Oh, sorry!" Prowl yelped, snatching a towel and wrapping Jazz up in it. "Warm now?"

Jazz nuzzled his face in the soft white towel and purred. Oh this was much better now!

"Come on, let get you dried up and get you something to drink," Prowl smiled.

_**Wheeljack's lab**_

There were portable lights brought in to light the destroyed lab. While power had been restored, the overhead lights were blown out in the explosion. Wheeljack and Skyfire were sifting through the debris in order to see what was salvageable to move to a new lab.

"Is anything left of this sparkling making device?" Skyfire asked, kneeling down and picking up charred pieces of metal. The tall and lanky mech was still in his protoform. There was no time to spare searching for an alt form.

"No," Wheeljack replied, clearing his computer control panel. "Which is probably a good thing. No more sparklings. I don't think Magnus could handle another one right now."

"So there's no way to turn Optimus and the others back to their mature selves?"

"The device only worked one way. I was trying to design something to reverse the process. I about fried my processor trying to figure away to fix this mess. Since nothing I came up with worked during all the test simulations I took a step back and re-examined the device."

"Where do their memories go when they're turned into sparklings? The spark bond still remains intact but they have no memory of who they are."

"That's what hit me after the final simulation failed!" Jack exclaimed, his fingers playing across the computer control panel. The lights flickered on then off. He smacked it and the lights came on strong. "While I might be able to get them to their mature selves physically, what was their mental state going to be?"

"You found something, didn't you?" Skyfire smiled, recognizing that exciting tone of Jack's voice.

"Sure did," he replied pulling up some data for Skyfire to examine. "In the back of my mind I kept trying to figure out why they'd turn people young only to lose all that accumulative knowledge. Turns out they didn't lose it. See here, the device downloads everything before the transformation. As a precaution, I marked Optimus and Ironhide's knowledge then transferred it from the device to our server."

"What about Jazz?"

"This is his," he said pointing to the screen. "I had figured out how to put their knowledge back. Jazz volunteered to have his memories transferred so I could test my theory. Unfortunately, the transfer caused an overload in the device. It wasn't meant to do the transfer the way I was doing it. I barely had time to save Jazz's memories before the first explosion. Jazz still had enough of himself in there to shove me out the door. After that…I don't know…somehow the second explosion did something to Jazz. We may never know exactly how."

"That does not matter now. We have to find a way to make them mature again," Skyfire smiled. "I'll need to look over all your research data before formulating a plan."

"Have at it," Jack said, moving away from his computer. "I'll go get us some energon from the recreation room. The explosion destroyed my supply."

_**Ironhide and Chromia's quarters**_

"Where are you at, Hide?" Chromia playfully asked.

His giggles sounded from under the bed.

"Gotcha!" she shouted, bending down too spot him.

A loud squeal sounded followed by hysterical giggles. Hide belly crawled backwards out from the other side of the bed. Chromia moved around to get him, part of the game they started playing since he got up a short time ago. She was intent on enjoying him as a sparkling since it was obvious she herself wouldn't be sparking any time soon.

Ironhide squealed again, louder than before. With a grunt he pulled himself up onto the bed, crawled across and away from Mia. Then he crashed onto the floor when he dropped off the bed, giggling, he scurried away.

Chormia laughed at her mini wrecking ball of a mech when he collided with a chair. He grunted in his usual way at it, continuing to crawl until it was finally out of his way.

"Hide, come here," she laughed. "You're too cute."

Of course he did as she said, crawling to her as fast as he could. His love for her felt within as was her love for him. Chromia hefted him up into her arms and headed out of their quarters.

"I have a surprise for you," she cooed, nuzzling her nose against his. Hide patted her face, smiling. "I think you're going to like it."

"Morning Chromia," Bumblebee yawned.

"Long night shift?"

Bumblebee nodded.

"Can you lend me a hand before you head off to recharge?" she asked. "It will only be for a few minutes."

"Sure," he smiled despite the fact he was so ready for recharge at the very moment. Bee could never say no to the femmes. He followed her down the hall. "Morning Hide, how are you doing?"

(_grunt!_)

"He doesn't talk much does he?" Bee chuckled.

"No, but then Hide was never one for words, his actions spoke volumes," she smiled proudly.

It took a few minutes to reach their intended destination. Bumblebee shook his head. Of course, he shouldn't have been surprised Chromia would bring Ironhide to the shooting range.

"You want me to hold him?" he asked.

"Thanks," she smiled, handing him Ironhide. "Watch the target dummy, Hide. Ok?"

Hide nodded and watched intently, curious about what Mia was doing. Strange lights were repeatedly hitting the target dummy until kaboom! It was in pieces. Wow! Hide's mouth dropped wide open. That was cool!

"Ka-boom!" he cheered, clapping excitedly.

"Figures," Bumblebee snorted.

"Would you like me to do that again?" Mia asked.

"Ka-boom!" he nodded.

"Ok," she laughed. "Only for a few minutes then we'll go get you something to eat."

_**Optimus and Elita's quarters**_

Elita laid still, optic covers mostly closed. Through the small slits she could see Optimus climbing out of his recharge crib. He giggled once he was on the floor, heading towards her. A moment later, she saw his head then optics peep up over the edge of the bed. First the toy bot came up. Then Optimus pulled himself up.

"Lita," he spoke softly, sending his love for her through their bond.

The femme commander didn't move until she felt his nose touch hers. Her arms wrapped around him, holding him close. Soft purring emanated from his vocal processor as he nuzzled his nose against hers, his love for her echoing through her spark.

"I love you too, Optimus," she sighed. "I hope Skyfire can help Wheeljack put you back to normal. As adorable as you are now, I miss my mature Optimus."

(_beep?_)

His small blazing blue orbs started intensely at her as if trying to understand what she was talking about. That look only made her miss the mature Optimus even more.

Before she could say anything more, a soft tap sounded on their quarter's door. With Optimus snuggled in her arms, Elita got up to answer it. She was a little taken aback after the door opened to reveal the large mech standing there in his alt form.

"Grimlock!" Optimus happily greeted.

"Grimlock, is everything ok?" she worriedly asked.

"Me Grimlock come to see if Optimus can come out and play," he said in earnest, his small hands fidgeting.

"I…"

"Please?"

Optimus started wiggling in Lita's arms. He wanted to go play with Grimlock.

"Well, I suppose," she smiled, gently setting Optimus on Grimlock's neck, something they had done last night. "Now, go slow like before. And head to the recreation room. He needs his breakfast."

Of course in his excitement, Grimlock only heard head to the recreation room. Once Optimus was securely on his neck, the big bot took off stomping down the hallway.

"GRIMLOCK!" Elita shouted.

The Dinobot only rampaged faster down the hall with an out of control giggling sparkling being bounced on his back.

"Frag it!" she snarled and chased after them.

_**Recreation room**_

Ultra Magnus sat down took one sip of is warm energon, hoping to enjoy the silence and solitude of this peaceful morning. Only it was short lived. He'd barely put the cup to his lips when Prowl came strolling in with a bubbly, giggling, and quite shiny Jazz.

Oh well, at least Jazz wasn't crying.

(_**wails!**_)

Magnus' optic covers closed. He knew he should have over recharged this morning as Chromia came in with Ironhide.

"Is he hungry too?" Prowl asked. He set Jazz on his shoulder as he was preparing a bottle.

"No," she answered, her hand patting Hide on the back trying to comfort him. "I took him to the shooting range…"

"What?!" Prowl exclaimed in disbelief. "You don't take a sparkling to the shooting range!"

"Relax, Bumblebee was holding him," she replied. "Hide really loved it there."

"Figures he would," Magnus snorted behind his cup.

"Well, you still don't take a sparkling to the shooting range," Prowl insisted.

"Morning everyone!" Wheeljack cheerfully smiled as he walked in.

"On your feet already?" Magnus asked, recalling the Ratchet said Jack was to remain off his feet until noon today.

"Yeah, wanted to get an early start," he replied, heading straight for the supply cabinets. "Just came to get some energon for Skyfire and myself. We've got a long day ahead of us." He paused after collecting what he needed and turned to Magnus. "Oh, don't tell Ratchet I'm up on my feet. He'll probably dismantle me or something."

"**WHEELJACK! YOU SON OF A GLITCH**!"

"Too late," Magnus chuckled as Ratchet came storming in.

"**What part of stay off your feet do you not understand**?" Ratchet snarled and flung his favorite throwing tool across the room.

Wheeljack ducked just as a wrench flew over his head. The tool pinged off the storage cabinet a bit too close for Prowl's comfort.

"**Hey! Not near the sparklings**!" Prowl yelled, pulling Jazz into his chest and covering him protectively with his arms.

The engineer didn't hesitate. He saw an opening and ran for it.

"**I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU, FRAGGER**!" Ratchet yelled and then chased Jack out the door.

"Nice to see things getting back to normal," Chromia smiled, setting a now quiet Hide on the table as she sat down. "Prowl…"

"Making one for Hide too," he smiled, putting Jazz back up on his shoulder.

Magnus opened his mouth to say something only to be interrupted by the entire room shaking. It was shaking so violently he nearly spilled his energon. Soon loud feet approached from outside in the hall and were getting closer.

"**GRIMLOCK! YOU MALFUNCTION! COME BACK HERE WITH THAT SPARKLING!**" Elita's voice boomed.

"Frag! This can't be good!" Magnus jumped up to his feet, ready for action.

Chromia and Prowl grabbed their sparkling mates and moved to what they hoped was a safe place in the room just as Grimlock came barreling into the recreation room. Optimus was still clinging onto the big bot's neck, having a great time.

Just as Magnus made a move to retrieve Optimus, Grimlock whirled around. His tail smacked the City Commander square in the chest, sending the mech hurtling across the room and into a wall with a loud crash.

"Oops, sorry," Grimlock cringed.

"Grimlock! Put Optimus down now!" Elita ordered, standing in the doorway.

That's when Optimus lost his grip from laughing too much. He slid all the way down Grimlock's back and onto his tail. The Dinobot instinctively flicked his tail when he felt the added weight and inadvertently sent Optimus flying head over heals across the room.

(_**TRILLING!**_)

Optimus giggled. This was FUN! Even after he landed on the soft padding of the couch he shrieked with delight.

Whoa! That just looked like too much fun!

Both Ironhide and Jazz surprised their sparkmates by leaping free from their grasp and racing across the floor on all fours. By then, no mature mech or femme could stop three sparklings from climbing up Grimlock. Each one slid down and was tail whipped across the room.

Prowl cringed as Jazz was the first to land with Ironhide and Optimus landing right on top of him. Neither of them were hurt and only laughed harder as they pushed at each other to get down off the couch.

"Grimlock!" they all yelled at him.

"Me Grimlock, sorry. Just wanted to have fun."

"It's ok," Elita sighed, relenting. The sparklings _**were**_ having fun and were unharmed. She didn't want to ruin that. "No more tail whipping though."

"Ok."

"You ok, Magnus?" she asked as he joined her.

"Yeah, it's not the first time I've been whacked by Grimlock's tail," he grumbled, dusting his armor off.

"I'm sure it won't be the last," Sunny snickered, over Elita's shoulder.

"You're supposed to be on duty in the Command Center," Magnus growled at him.

"I wanted to give you fair warning," Sunny seriously said and then smiled fiendishly. He knew Magnus was going to _**love**_ this news. "We had another Autobot land a short while ago. We filled him in on all the details of what happened. Sides should be bringing him back to the base any minute now. The mech wanted to _**hurry**_ and get an alt form."

"Another landing?!" Elita exclaimed.

"Who?" Prowl asked.

Just then a blue and white blur streaked into the room and came to an abrupt stop in front of the three sparklings.

"Sunnyyouwereright!They'resoadorabel!CanIholdone?CanI?CanI?Please,pleaseplease!"

Both Prowl and Magnus groaned simultaneously. Of all the mechs to land, why did it have to be Blurr?

Ow, their processors were already aching.

"Ijustwanttoholdone!I'veneverheldasparklingbefore!"

"SHUT UP BLURR!" Everyone yelled.

* * *

Ok, I had to throw in Blurr for a friend.


	30. Chapter 30

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Here's a happy Labor Day update for ya!

* * *

It was difficult to say who was more upset, Grimlock or the sparklings. The big Dinobot was in tears too when it was the designated nap time for all three sparklings. It took Ultra Magnus several hours to console Grimlock and explain to him that the sparklings needed to recharge so that they could play later. And the sparklings cried themselves right into recharge.

Bumblebee, who'd been recharging all morning and into the afternoon and thus missed Grimlock's breakdown as well as Blurr's arrival, woke to find the base very quiet.

Wheeljack and Skyfire had locked themselves in the new lab. Grimlock was grumbling and whining about the thorough maintenance check up he had to endure at the hands of Ratchet in the Med Bay. Sunny and Sides were actually being good in the Command Center with Magnus.

With everyone seemingly busy, Bee headed into the play room to get some sparkling quality time. First thing he did upon walking in was giggle to himself. Elita and Chromia looked exhausted, recharging in relaxed sitting positions on the couch. Prowl looked as if he passed out from too much high grade with his head resting on his arms there were on the table he was sitting at.

The scout quietly crossed the room, careful to not disturb them as he knew all too well how exhausting tending to over energetic sparklings. Inside the recharge crib was exactly the opposite. Optimus, adorable as ever recharging with his aft in the air, Ironhide flat on his back snoring as usual, and Jazz curled up in a small bundle of cuteness.

Prowl's systems alerted him to a new presence in the room, pulling him from his recharge nap. He stood up, finding Bumblebee silently observing the sparklings as they recharged. The black and white mech hadn't realized how exhausting one tiny sparkling could be. Yet, Prowl enjoyed every astrosecond of it.

"I must say, this will be one experience none of us will ever forget," he spoke softly, standing beside Bumblebee.

"I know. How will we ever look up to Optimus again, after seeing him like this?"

"We all started out this way, Bee. Optimus wasn't spawned by Primus himself as a fully mature mech. He earned his place as Prime, remember that."

Bumblebee nodded.

Optimus suddenly turned over and sat up. He yawned wide, rubbing his optics with balled fists. Then he whimpered as his tank gurgled. He was hungry.

"Seeing them and being able to play with them, makes me want one," the scout smiled, reaching in and lifting up Optimus.

"I know what you mean," Prowl sighed, his optics locked on Jazz, his hand affectionately caressing the tiny silver mech's head.

"You'd make a good father, Prowl," Bee complimented grabbing one of the prepared bottles off the table. He set Optimus on the floor and handed it to him. Optimus eagerly sucked on the bottle.

"We'll never know that for sure. But I'll gladly settle for being an uncle once Elita and Optimus' sparkling arrives." He gently lifted Jazz up into his arms, careful to not wake him. He couldn't help it. Jazz was too cute. He sat back down at the table, content to watching Jazz recharge. "In the meantime, I'll just have to enjoy this time as a surrogate father for as long as I can."

"Oh, Primus…that is just not right!" Bee suddenly gagged and stumbled backwards.

Prowl gave Bumblebee a puzzled looked. A moment later the smell hit his intakes. He had to agree. He still couldn't believe anything could smell so foul!

It was too much for Bee. The poor mech crashed loudly to the floor waking both the femmes. Elita jumped up to see Optimus was happily suckling away on his bottle sitting on the floor near Prowl's feet. Chromia woke up, rolling her optics at everyone's reactions.

Jazz was jolted awake instantly from the sound of the crash and immediately started crying. He didn't cry for long, realizing he was in the safest place he could be. Once calm, Prowl set him on the floor next to Optimus with his own bottle and then went to attend to Bumblebee.

"For frags sake, it's a smell. It's not going to kill you," she huffed, getting to her feet and heading to the recharge crib. Hide was slowly waking up as she looked down at him. She didn't hesitate to pick him up.

"Iheardacrash!WhathappenedtoBumblebee?Isheok?" Blurr asked as he shot into the play room.

"He's fine," Prowl said, slapping Bee on the faceplates.

"Istillcan'tbelievehowcutetheyare!CanIholdonenow?YousaidIcouldlater.CanI?CanI?"

"Here you can hold, Hide," Chromia said, seeing that Prowl and Elita were a bit reluctant with their sparkmates. Over protective fraggers. "Just don't talk so fast to him. I think you about fried their processors this morning."

"I honestly thought their heads were going to pop off with as fast as Blurr kept moving around them and them trying to keep up by turning their heads to follow him," Elita said, moving across the room. She grabbed the last bottle and handed it to Chromia.

Bumblebee groaned as he sat up.

"Bumblebee,you'reawake!Howareyoudoing?"

"Blurr? When did you show up?"

"Theoneandonly!YouwereinrechargewhenIarrived.SunnyandSidessaidnottowakeyou.Arentthesparklingscute?"

"Blurr!" Chromia snapped, smacking him on the head.

Ironhide giggled, "Ka-boom!"

"If he keeps it up then I will shoot him, Hide," she smiled, patting Hide's head.

Blurr muted it, looking worried. He wasn't going to risk Chromia shooting him. Even if he was holding Hide, she might still do it. She had an accurate shot to pull it off.

The room suddenly started shaking.

"Oh no," Elita moaned, covering her optics with her hand.

"We did say he could come back once they were awake," Prowl said, helping Bee up and into the nearest chair.

"There are going to be rules around my sparkling," the femme commander insisted.

"Agreed," Prowl said. "But at least we'll have Optimus back to control Grimlock. You know I won't hesitate to toss the twins in the brig. Anything to keep the sparkling's processor from being corrupted."

"GRIMLOCK!" both Optimus and Jazz cheered, chucking their bottles aside.

"Optimus! Jazz!" Prowl and Elita shouted but it was too late.

The two little bots zipped across the floor as Grimlock came stomping in, in his alt mode which the sparklings loved. Honestly, it was difficult to tell who was more excited – the sparklings or the big bot. It was a miracle the tiny bots didn't get crushed beneath the big feet of Grimlock as he bounced around them.

Elita, Prowl and Chromia didn't even have a chance to try to rescue the two over excited sparklings as they were too busy dodging Grimlock's tail each time they tried to get close. Then the unimaginable happened. Somehow, Optimus and Jazz got on Grimlock's feet.

"Grimlock! NO!" Elita shouted in a panic.

Grimlock didn't like getting yelled at by the femme commander and did what he always did – he ran. Besides, the sparklings like it as they were giggling wildly, their small hands clinging to his ankles. The more they laughed the faster he ran. He managed to make it a long ways down the hallway, with two frantic sparkmates in hot pursuit.

Magnus happened to be headed towards the stomping and the giggling that echoed down the hallway. He stopped, watching them racing towards him, praying he didn't get trampled over. He couldn't wait for Optimus to be returned to normal. Magnus could only control Grimlock so much.

"Grimlock, stop!" he ordered, making his frame as big as it could get, blocking the way. To his surprise the Dinobot did as he was told a few feet from Magnus. "You can't run around like that with sparklings on your feet. It can be dangerous for them. And dangerous for you if you upset the femmes."

The City Commander bent down and plucked up the two little bots. Tears instantly erupted. Two relieved sparkmates arrived, both deciding it best to not be angry. It never bode well to get mad at a Dinobot unless you wanted the base to be wrecked. Besides, Elita and Prowl were more scared than anything and just relieved the sparklings were safe now.

"Me Grimlock sorry," he big bot sniffled, hanging his head down. "Having too much fun. Like to play with sparklings."

"We know big guy," Magnus sighed. "You have to remember to be careful is all."

Optimus warbled softly at Grimlock, his small hand patting the big bot gently on the head. Even Jazz offered some comfort by hugging the Dinobots snout and purring.

"We need to designate a play time for Grimlock too," Elita smiled. "He's like an oversized teddy bear to them."

"Or an oversized sparkling," Magnus chuckled. He recalled that Optimus often commented that he felt like a father and not a leader to the Dinobots.

"Regardless, his spark is in the right place," Prowl added, taking Jazz into his arms. "With some guidance I'm sure he'll make an excellent sparkling sitter."

Grimlock nodded his head enthusiastically, "Me Grimlock want to be a sparkling sitter!"

"We'll see what we can do," Elita smiled.

* * *

Up next: Wheeljack and Skyfire figure out how to reverse what's been done. Optimus gets a new perspective on things.

a/n: Sorry, I can't keep this going forever. It does have to end eventually. But the next chapter is not the last.


	31. Chapter 31

More sparkling fluff! Jazz steals the show in my belief here. Please enjoy!

* * *

_**Three days later…late afternoon**_

Elita sat back on the couch in the recreation room, the only room big enough for Dinobot and sparklings to play, watching Optimus having fun with Jazz, Ironhide, and Grimlock who finally agreed to stay in his robotic form while with the sparklings. While he would never intentionally step on the sparklings, everyone felt it'd be safer if he didn't go bouncing around in his Dino-mode. Plus, he was easier to control in his robot mode.

Prowl and Magnus had taken all the high grade out, just in case Optimus took it upon himself to help himself to some. They had a scare yesterday when he got hold of a canister and managed to get it open. Then he cried for over an hour after it was yanked from his hands just before he put it to his mouth. No one, not even Grimlock could get him to stop crying. Prowl had to recall Elita from the mission he sent her and Bumblebee on. It wasn't good for a sparkling to cry for so long.

Other than that, the past three days have been peaceful. The Autobots had settled into a nice routine which included sparkling time. The sparklings had fun with each of their sparking sitters, including Ratchet who took turn watching them. Only Wheeljack and Skyfire haven't spent time with the sparklings but then they've been busy trying to correct the situation.

Overall, everyone was quite content and happy. Both Prowl and Chromia were thoroughly enjoying being surrogate parents. Elita was too but she was very much looking forward to this sparkling time as the real thing with hers and Optimus' sparkling or sparklings.

"No Jazz! Mine!" Optimus yelled clutching the toy bot Bee gave him tight against his chest.

"Please?" Jazz asked, holding his little hands out.

Optimus pushed Jazz's hands away, shaking his head emphatically.

"Mine!" Ironhide exclaimed, yanking the toy from Optimus.

"Give it!" Optimus cried, gabbing hold of the toy bot's leg.

"Mine!" Jazz giggled grabbing hold of the bot's other leg.

Optimus growled at them both, pulling as hard as he could. At the same time Ironhide and Jazz were pulling in their directions. Well, Jazz was actually getting pulled and dragged back and forth. He didn't have Optimus' or Ironhide's strength. But he was having fun none the less.

"Optimus, that not very nice. Supposed to share," Grimlock said.

"NO! MINE!" the little mech shouted.

"Possessive, isn't he?" Chromia smiled, from her seat near Elita.

"Well, he's always been very protective of those he cares about," the femme commander responded. "So I guess he has to be a bit possessive."

"GIVE IT!" Optimus screamed and yanked as hard as he could.

The toy ended up breaking in the process. Optimus went tumbling over backwards with only a leg in his hand. Elita quickly got to her feet as Optimus sat there, staring at the leg in his hands. She knew this wasn't going to be good. And it wasn't. She winced as Optimus wailed loudly.

"I think someone is cranky and needs a recharge nap," she grinned picking up Optimus.

He only cried like this when he was tired. Kind of like the mature Optimus she loved. He wouldn't exactly cry but he'd get cranky if he was overdue for a much needed recharge. But he rarely let anyone see it, just her. Around her he could always be himself.

Optimus responded to her in his sparkling talk while holding up the leg as she walked back to the couch to sit down.

"Well, it was your own fault. But I think we can get Wheeljack to fix it," she smiled at him. "Ok?"

He nodded his head, hiccupping and crying.

"Oppy, here," Jazz said with a concerned expression, holding the remains of the toy up.

Elita giggled. Jazz couldn't get the 't' sound in Optimus' name and came up with his own. So like the Jazz they all knew and loved.

"Jazz is just too cute," Chormia chuckled softly. "Too bad he and Prowl can't procreate. That'd be one interesting sparkling."

"Yes it would. Thank you, Jazz. That was very kind of you," Elita smiled, retrieving the toy. She handed it to Optimus. "What do you say to Jazz?"

"Thanks," he sighed, hugging the toy bot and leg in his arms.

Jazz flashed his smile then crawled back to where Hide was playing. Hide immediately pancaked Jazz making the little silver mech giggle. The two wrestled around with Grimlock keeping his optics on them. He always made sure Jazz didn't get crushed too often. He seemed to understand that the tiny bot sometimes needed help.

"What's up everyone?" Sunny asked merrily as he, his brother and Bumblebee walked in. He immediately noticed the yawning sparkling curled up beside Elita on the couch. "Oh, nap time?"

She nodded, smiling, her optics on Optimus as he slowly drifted off into recharge.

Ironhide spotted his favorite playmate, other than Grimlock, and immediately barreled his way over. Jazz beeped for him to come back; he wasn't done playing! It was a funny thing when Ironhide or Optimus would flatten Jazz. It was down right cute and adorable when Jazz tried to pancake one of them as he always bounced right off them.

But Jazz was never discouraged. He rolled back onto his hands and knees and crawled right up onto Ironhide's head. Even though Jazz was tiny, Hide's neck couldn't support the added weight and his face smashed into the ground and Jazz tumbled off…giggling.

"Hide, no!" Sunny snapped when Hide opened his mouth to bite Jazz. The black sparkling sat down and did as he was told. He stuck his bottom lip out, brooding. "No biting…unless it's your sparkmate."

"Sunny!"

"Sorry, Chromia, I couldn't resist that line. Not like we've seen it…or anything. The biting I mean."

The femme's optics narrowed and flashed at him. Fraggin pervs!

"Now's a good time to shut up, Sunny," Sides said, pulling his twin along towards the table, both keeping an optic on Chromia. One never knew when she'd pull out her gun.

"You two having fun?" Bumblebee asked, kneeling down before the sparklings.

Ironhide blew a raspberry at Bee, making everyone laugh.

"Now he's going to pout," Chromia laughed as Hide crawled over and sat by Grimlock.

Jazz answered Bee with sparkling talk telling him all about what happened. Bumblebee, not knowing a word except 'Oppy', politely listened and nodded his head every so often. Whatever the little mech was talking about he was very animated about it with his hands moving about in the air. Then in midsentence he spotted Prowl who walked in with Magnus. Both mechs were deep in discussion about the base's security.

"Prowl!" Jazz cheered, reaching up with grabby hands.

"We can talk about it later," Magnus chuckled, shaking his head, seeing how Prowl's optics just lit up upon seeing how happy Jazz was to see him.

"You know, Prowl," Sunny started, as the black and white mech picked up Jazz. "You're ruining your reputation. I've never seen you smile so much."

Prowl shot him a deadpan look. The one Sunny usually gets just before getting dragged by his audio receptor to the brig.

"Everyone!Guesswhat!Guesswhat!" Blurr shouted excitedly from the doorway. "Th…"

WHAM!

Skyfire, Wheeljack and Ratchet all slammed into Blurr, sending the young mech crashing to the floor.

"Oh slag!" Skyfire winced.

"Frag! Sorry Blurr," Ratchet added. "We thought you would have told them by now."

"What's all the excitement about?" Magnus asked, helping Blurr up to his feet. "Tell us what?"

"We did it!" Jack beamed proudly. "We built a machine that will turn Optimus, Ironhide, and Jazz back to their mature selves!"

The room went dead silent.

The only sound was a soft warble from Jazz who didn't understand why Prowl was suddenly so sad. The black and white mech simply pulled Jazz a bit closer to his chassis. Even Chromia looked exceedingly depressed as she moved to pick up Ironhide. She knew she may never get the chance to be a mother.

It was not the reaction Wheeljack had been expecting. After all he'd worked his aft off, nearly got blown up, lost his legs, and hadn't recharged in two days! It ate at his spark that he had accidentally done this to Optimus. Even Ironhide and Jazz's accidents bothered him to the core and he'd wished he'd never seen the damn device. But still, he was expecting his efforts to be rewarded in some way.

"I'll take Optimus first," Elita said, getting to her feet with the recharging sparkling in her arms. "We do need _**him**_ back. But I see no reason why Chromia and Prowl can't wait a little while longer."

"Of course," Skyfire smiled. He may have been locked in a lab for three days but he could understand why they seemed hesitant. Sparklings were a joy and a gift to have on the base. "The device is there whenever you're ready."

"Can…can we say goodbye to Optimus?" Bumblebee asked, looking a bit distraught. He really enjoyed being a sparkling sitter.

"It's not really goodbye, he'll be back," Ratchet pointed out.

"True but having sparklings on a base again has been...spark-lifting," Magnus said. "None of us have had that since Bumblebee and the twins were sparklings. It was nice to enjoy it for a short time and it's difficult to let it go."

"But we won't have to let go," Sunny pointed out. "Elita's gonna be sparking soon after she and Optimus get busy. We'll have a sparkling or two…or three running around the base soon enough."

"Sunny's right…for once," Prowl sighed. Not even Elita gave the young mech lip about his jibe. "But I would like some more time…I'll never get this chance again."

"Same with me," Chromia said, tears in her optics. "Hide was adamant about not having sparklings. So I'm going to enjoy this for a little while longer."

"I think now would be the best time, while he's recharging," Elita insisted. In truth, she was anxious to have Optimus back to himself. She'd been longing to apologize to him ever since this thing began. "So, say a quick goodbye if you want to."

Wheeljack was a little surprised but at last understood as he watched them say goodbye to sparkling Optimus. He wasn't immune either. He did enjoy those precious few moments with Optimus. It did remind him of when Bumblebee had often snuck into his lab to wreak havoc.

"Do you understand, Grimlock?" Magnus asked, patting the big guy on the shoulder. "Wheeljack and Skyfire are going to fix Optimus."

"Optimus not broken! No need to fix!"

"Optimus is a mature mech," Elita said firmly. "He should be returned to his original state. We need him that way. He's our leader. He cannot fight Megatron this way."

"Optimus strong leader."

"Yes, but only when he's mature. We need our leader back. Understand?"

Grimlock nodded to Elita.

"Let's go…before he wakes up," the femme commander ordered.

Magnus went along with her, Jack, Skyfire, and Ratchet. He figured it was his place to be there to brief his leader. Plus, he was curious how much of this experience Optimus might remember and wanted to be there.

"Set him on that table there," Wheeljack indicated. "Try to lay him on his back."

Elita did as instructed, laying Optimus on a med-like berth in the middle of the lab. A trembling hand caressed his head affectionately. She truly enjoyed being a surrogate mother to him and was going to miss him like this. Only her desires to be a real mother drove her to follow through with this.

"We're going to put the shield up now, ok?" Skyfire asked as the femme joined them at the computer console. "It's to protect us from the energy used to change Optimus back."

"Proceed."

"First they'll change him and then they'll upload his memories from his mature self," Ratchet spoke softly to her.

"Will he remember any of his time as a sparkling?" she asked.

"We have no idea," Wheeljack answered, his hands playing across the computer console. "The simulations couldn't tell us that. Uploading his original memories will either overwrite the ones he has now or incorporate them."

"We'll find out once he wakes," Magnus said confidently.

"Energy levels at max, Skyfire," Wheeljack announced. "We're ready."

"Putting the shield up," the scientist said and instantly a soft blue force shield dropped from the ceiling, surrounding the bed Optimus lay on. "There will be a series of blinding lights so you may want to protect your optics."

"Stage one in progress," Jack said, never taking his optics on the computer monitor. The flash of white light didn't bother him as he wasn't looking directly at it. "Stage one complete. His systems have been successfully scanned. Proceeding with stage two."

Elita and Magnus watched in amazement. After each flash of light, Optimus' form was bigger than the last. He was literally growing before their very optics.

"Powering down the energy levels. He's reached his mature specifications," Wheeljack told them all.

"Lowering the shield," Skyfire said and the shield disappeared in an instant.

Ratchet, knowing what to do, moved over and quickly scanned Optimus' systems. Spark rate normal. Energon flow normal. All internal systems within normal functioning parameters.

"All systems are functioning properly," Ratchet told them without taking his optics from Optimus. "Proceed with the memory upload. I'll continue to monitor his CPU for any fluctuations."

"Any sudden spikes and we have to stop the process," Wheeljack told Skyfire.

"Got it, proceeding with the upload."

Magnus rested a reassuring hand on Elita's shoulder. She was looking rather tense. As was Magnus, he was afraid for his friend. They couldn't afford to lose Optimus now.

"Ten percent downloaded," Skyfire announced.

"CPU still functioning within normal limits," Ratchet announced.

"Forty percent."

Elita found herself clinging on tightly to Magnus' hand.

"Sixty-five percent."

"No spikes of any kind so far," Jack stated.

So_** far**_?! Were they trying to drive Elita nuts?!

"Ninety percent!"

"Ow!" Magnus grunted to himself. Elita was squeezing the life out of his fragging hand!

"Sorry," she winced, letting go.

"One hundre…"

Wheeljack's monitor suddenly blew out interrupting Skyfire. Sparks flew and the power in the room fluctuated slightly. After a few anxious moments the dimmed lights came back on to full power.

Elita immediately noticed the extremely worried look on Ratchet's face.

"What is it? What's wrong with Optimus?" she asked, hurrying to Optimus' side.

"I don't know…his CPU…it just went offline," Ratchet answered.

* * *

Oh yeah, I'm bad! Take that! I needed another cliffy in the story.


	32. Chapter 32

Remember, this story is centered around Optimus. So there are no sparklings in this chapter but there will be in the next. Now, what you've all been dying for.

* * *

"That didn't happen in any of the simulations," Skyfire commented, completely baffled as to why Optimus' CPU went offline.

"This isn't a simulation you aft!" Elita snapped, kicking Skyfire in aft back of his leg since she couldn't reach his aft without some effort.

"Elita, let them do their job," Magnus suggested, restraining the femme.

Big mistake!

Elita twisted around, grabbing his arm, maneuvered into position, and flipped him over. Magnus crashed hard, suddenly finding himself on the floor staring up at the ceiling!

'Oh that was embarrassing!' he thought to himself, grateful the twins weren't in the room to witness that. Laying there he realized he should never restrain Elita and consider himself luck his interface appliance was still attached!

"Was there a power surge during the download?" Ratchet quickly asked, monitoring all Optimus other systems. They all appeared fine…for now. But the CPU wasn't even humming, not a flicker of energy.

"It wasn't a power surge," Wheeljack said looking at the data streaming on Skyfire's monitor. "But there was some kind of feedback from Optimus' CPU towards the end of the download."

"Frag it!" Ratchet snapped. If Optimus' CPU was down much longer… "I need answers! I don't want to remove his helm armor unless I have too."

"Readings indicated the download was successful," Jack responded, understanding the urgency of the situation. "I think we might have downloaded his memories too fast. His CPU couldn't handle the input at that rate."

"Maybe we should do the download slower next time," Skyfire suggested.

"**NEXT TIME**!" Elita roared. She was ready to rip the scientist apart! This was her sparkmate they were talking about, not some scientific experiment!

"Hang on!" Ratchet said, grabbing Elita's arm before her fist connect with Skyfire. "My sensors are picking up faint energy fluctuations from his CPU."

Ratchet leaned closer and removed part of Optimus audio receptor cover. To get a better reading of what was going on in there he inserted a medical probe into the small port behind the audio receptor port.

"It's rebooting," the CMO said with a sigh. "Give him a few minutes then we'll try to wake him."

"So he's going to be ok?" Elita asked, all fury gone, tears of relief held at bay in her optics as she took hold of Optimus' hand.

"Everything indicates he should function as a normal mature Optimus," Ratchet answered. "We'll no for certain once he regains consciousness."

"When will that be?" Magnus asked, back on his feet but keeping his distance from Elita. He was as worried for Optimus too; this was his best friend after all.

A soft, deep moan sounded from Optimus quieting them all.

Everyone gathered on one side of the bed and waited, watching, and hoping he was back to being their Prime. Their leader and friend didn't move.

"Optimus?" Elita called, he hand still holding his. She could sense his confusion as he lay there. Perhaps her voice could help him.

Optic covers fluttered open to reveal dimly lit optics beneath, then immediately snapped shut. The lights above hurt Optimus' optics making his already pounding head hurt even more. His spark rate increased as he didn't understand what was going on.

He could hear voices talking to him but they sound so disorientated he couldn't make out what they were saying. Squinting to take a look, he hoped that maybe seeing them might help. But then his tank lurched, he turned away from whomever they were and ejected the contents of his tank all over the floor.

Optimus instinctively reached through his bond to the other he felt reaching to him, comforting him within. He was desperate for her, hoping perhaps that she could take the pain away and make him feel better.

He whimpered softly.

"Is he ok?" she asked, caressing Optimus' back as he lay curled up on his side. "He's reacting like…a sparkling."

"He still needs a few minutes," Ratchet answered, the probe giving him updated information every astrosecond. "His CPU isn't firing on all pistons yet."

"He's in pain, can you give him something?" she asked.

Ratchet nodded and immediately injected a mild pain inhibitor through the probe. It seemed enough for Optimus' form relaxed. A moment later the big mech sat up and stared at all them, confusion in his optics.

"You all there yet?" Magnus asked, smiling.

Optimus shook his head. Not in response to Magnus question but to the onslaught of memories that raced through his CPU. So many images, emotions, memories flashed by. All in a jumbled mess that he couldn't make heads or tails of.

Were they his memories? They felt like his. But some of them just didn't seem real.

Ratchet reached up and removed the probe then replaced the cover over his audio receptor. Readings indicated things were settling down in there.

"Do you know your name?" the CMO asked.

"Optimus," he answered somewhat bashfully, not like how they were all staring at him.

His hand shot up to his throat. Was that his voice? It sounded…different! Or was that how his voice was supposed to sound?

"You're Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots," Elita smiled up at him. "You had…an accident in Wheeljack's lab…"

"Wheeljack?" he asked, his optics locking on the white mech how raised his hand.

"Sorry about that Optimus," he said. "I didn't mean for that to happen. We're just glad to have you back to yourself again."

"The lab?" Optimus said, looking around, not recognizing the room.

"Yes, Wheeljack's lab. Do you remember the accident?" Magnus asked, getting a little anxious. When was Optimus going to come to his senses? Was he ever going to?

"Uh…there was…a bright light?" Optimus replied, looking hopefully at them. "Wrong answer?"

Obvious Optimus still wasn't himself. He wasn't acting like a sparkling but Ratchet couldn't help but be reminded of Optimus when he was a youngling with the way he was sitting and looking around. So, the CMO decided to give Optimus' CPU some help and smacked him on the back of his head.

"OW! What the frag did you do that for?" Optimus whined, rubbing his head.

"That sounds more like, Optimus now," the CMO grinned smugly only to have Elita slap if off. "OW!"

"Elita, try to be calm," Magnus suggested. "We're all just relieved Optimus is…"

He paused watching as Optimus looked around the room and fidgeted around on the bed. "…functioning."

"Am I in trouble?" Optimus asked.

They all stared at him. His optics were not that of a strong leader but of someone innocent and unknowing. Elita slowly turned towards Wheeljack and Skyfire, glaring.

"His memories are in there, Elita!" Skyfire yelped, jumping back out of her reach. Wheeljack wisely followed. "It might just take some time for his CPU to put them in order."

"**WHAT?!**"

The two mechs bolted for the door!

"**GET BACK HERE YOU FRAGGERS!" **she yelled chasing after them.

"Wow…she's scary," Optimus commented, after the red femme left.

"You have no idea," Magnus mumbled.

"Come on, Optimus, let's go to the Med Bay so I can check out what's going on in that head of yours," Ratchet sighed, grabbing the mech's hand and pulling him off the bed.

"Do I have to? I feel fine," he replied, standing still. "My head hurts…a little. But I'm fine. I swear."

"Unfortunately, you still need to go to the Med Bay. Magnus, give me hand with him."

Optimus laughed, pointing at the blue and white mech, "That's not Magnus. The Magnus I know is shorter than me."

"I grew up, Optimus. Or should I call you Orion."

"Dion?" Optimus questioned, giving the big mech the once over.

Ratchet threw Magnus a confused look.

"Nicknames we had for each other when we were up to no good," Magnus quickly explained.

"You grew up! No way!" Optimus gasped, mouth wide opened. "Slag, that sucks!"

Magnus chuckled, shaking his head.

"How old are you, Optimus?" Ratchet asked on a whim.

"Thirteen."

Ratchet buried his face in one hand, groaning. This was going to be a long evening.

"Do you remember, Ratchet?" Magnus asked as they started walking.

"Yup. Ratchet the Hatchet," Optimus snickered. "That's what Hide calls the old rust bucket."

WHACK!

"OW! Now what did I do?" Optimus yelped.

"_**I'm**_ the old rust bucket!" Ratchet snarled.

"Oops, sorry…my bad. I didn't know you were Ratchet."

"Let's just go," Ratchet sighed wearily.

They walked in silence for a short while. Magnus kept glancing back watching Optimus walking behind them. The mech looked curiously at everything like it was all new to him.

"You're much shorter than I remember," Optimus suddenly commented looking at Ratchet.

"Well, you grew up too, Optimus," Magnus smiled.

"What? When?" he asked worriedly, looking down at himself.

"Let's just get you to the Med Bay," Magnus insisted, grabbing Optimus' arm.

Optimus reluctantly went, concerned. He grew up and he couldn't remember. Then that CPU of his was hit with an idea. He was always a quick thinker.

"So…if I'm fully mature…that means. Magnus, are there femmes on the base? I mean other than the scary one."

"Oh no! I'll not have you going around humping every femme we have," Ratchet snarled, grabbing Optimus' other arm and dragging him along.

"What's humping? I just want to interface with one. I've never done it before. Hide always said there was a first time for everything and that when I was mature enough he'd help fix me up with a nice pretty femme."

"Lucky for us, Hide isn't himself so he can't help you!"

"Besides…I'm not sure how to put this Optimus," Magnus started. "But you grew up, fell in love and are now bonded to a femme. So she'd be the only one you'd be allowed to interface with. If you want to keep your interface appliance that is."

"Oh really," he smirked, raising an optic ridge. "And just who might this lucky femme be?"

"Elita, the scary femme," Ratchet snickered.

Optimus swallowed hard. Well, there went that idea!

Hello! Who is that?!

Optimus came to a sudden stopped and looked in the room full of mechs and...oh wow, another femme!

"Optimus!Optimus!You'reback!Lookeveryone,it'sOptimus!He'sback!"

"This can't be good," Ratchet mumbled. He was hoping they'd be able to sneak by the recreation room on route to the Med Bay.

"Hang on, everyone!" Magnus shouted over the excitement as Blurr, Bee, and the twins all rushed up to Optimus. Magnus was with Ratchet, they needed to get Optimus to the Med Bay. "He's…not quite himself yet. We need to get him to the Med Bay."

"But I feel fine," Optimus harrumphed crossing his arms across his chest.

"Helooksfinetome.Whatdoyouthing,Bumblebee?"

"Whoa, slow down dude. I can't understand a word your saying," Optimus retorted.

"What?Ialwaystalklikethis!You'veneverhadaproblembefore,Optimus!"

"Who is this guy?" Optimus asked Magnus. "He's over working my processor."

"That's Blurr, this is Bumblebee, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe…over there is Prowl and Chromia. The sparklings are Jazz and Ironhide. And the big guy is Grimlock."

"So, what's wrong? He doesn't remember us?" Bumblebee asked.

"Kind of," Magnus replied reluctantly. He didn't think it was a good idea to tell everyone their leader's CPU was a scrambled mess.

Sunny and Sides glanced at each other…and grinned. Oh, they could have so much fun with Optimus if he didn't remember who they were! It was bold. They were probably going to get into deep slag, spend a few days in the brig. But an opportunity like this didn't come along every millennium and was not to be wasted.

"Well, we're the fun bots," Sunny smiled, wrapping his arms around Sides and Bumblebee. "You want a good time, come see us."

"Cool!" Optimus grinned. "I'm always looking to have fun!"

"Or not!" Ratchet snarled, pulling Optimus away. "Med Bay now, youngling!"

"Oh, blow it out your tail pipe, you relic!" Optimus countered.

Sunny, Sides, and Bee all choked back a laugh. The med bot was fuming! And Ratchet…well, he didn't know who to smack. But he knew all of them were going to have very uncomfortable maintenance check ups during their next visit to the med bay.

"Wait! Optimus no remember, me…Grimlock?" the big bot asked, coming over and standing in front of Optimus.

"Uh…no…I don't. Sorry," Optimus replied, shrugging his shoulders, glancing at Magnus for help.

"Optimus still isn't feeling well," Magnus said to Grimlock.

"Oh…I know!" Grimlock suddenly said excitedly and then transformed.

The big Dinobot roared right in Opimtus' face, making the red and blue mech's optics widen as far as they could go.

Everyone waited anxiously for Optimus' reaction. Only, the reaction they got was one they weren't expecting. Not the one they ever dreamed their strong, brave leader would ever be doing.

"I'll go get him," Magnus sighed as Optimus' screams of terror reverberated off the walls from the hallway he ran down.

* * *

Up next: Optimus meets the sparklings, apologizes to Grimlock, and the twins take advantage of their incapacitated leader.


	33. Chapter 33

Ok, sorry! My muse changed her mind again. This is a transition chapter. I needed to get an Elita and Optimus scene in there. Plus, I felt there needed to be more reactions to Optimus' current state of mind. This chapter also sets up playtime with the sparklings in the next chapter. Then the chapter after that, 35, will be all the twins and Optimus.

* * *

"Are you done yet?" Optimus asked sounding quite annoyed.

"No and if you ask one more time I'm going to weld your mouth shut!" Ratchet snarled, holding up a readied blow torch.

Prowl and Chromia stared in disbelief from the doorway. They couldn't believe what Magnus just told them. Their leader, though he looked to be fully mature had the mind of a…youngling, worse a teenager.

"Needless to say, we won't be putting Jazz and Ironhide in there until Skyfire and Wheeljack figure out what went wrong," Magnus said.

"And when will that be?" Prowl asked. He was actually glad there was a legitimate excuse for not having Jazz turned back into his mature self. But at the same time Prowl wasn't happy about what happened to Optimus.

The three of them glanced over to where Wheeljack and Skyfire lay, heavily sedated until Ratchet can get to them.

"Judging from the scorch marks and dents, after a day in the med bay," Chromia surmised having done worse damage than that to Ironhide on a number of occasions when he pissed her off.

"That was a good idea having her sparkling sit," Magnus told Chromia. "Seemed to calm her down right away."

"After what happened before when she blew up finding out about Optimus, she realized not to ever to that sort of thing near sparklings," the femme answered. "She still feels guilty making him cry the way he did."

"Jazz really took to her," Prowl grinned proudly.

"Jazz always took to the femmes…until he fell for you," Magnus smirked.

Prowl narrowed his optics slightly at the City Commander.

"How's Grimlock by the way?" Prowl asked, tactfully changing the subject.

"Depressed and sulking in his quarters," the City Commander frowned. After tracking down Optimus trying to break into the armory to get a weapon to defend himself and escorting him to the Med Bay, Magnus had to track down a dejected Grimlock. "I'm not sure he understands what's going on."

"**BE STILL!**"

"**You can't order me around if I'm Prime**!" Optimus countered, glaring defiantly at Ratchet.

"**Actually, I'm the only one who CAN order you around**! **Now keep still or I will weld your interface panel shut!**!"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Don't tempt me!"

Optimus back down first and flung himself back down on the bed, glaring at the ceiling. This was ridiculous. He felt fine.

"Well, I've had enough excitement for one day and its past Hide's recharge time. I'll see everyone in the morning," Chromia said then walked off before the real fireworks started. It was enough for her to get Elita to calm down. No way did she want to hang around if Ratchet followed through on his threat.

"What are we going to do about Optimus?" Prowl asked.

"I don't know," Magnus answered as Ratchet came over to them. "Elita's not happy about this and to be honest, neither am I."

"We're all gonna be unhappy a bit longer," Ratchet sighed after coming over to them. "I can't find anything wrong with the lugnut. And until I have a chance to go over the data with Skyfire and Wheeljack, I'm afraid Optimus is stuck like this for now."

"That's not the news I was hoping for," Elita said from behind Prowl and Magnus.

They turned to see her standing there with a yawning Jazz in her arms. It was way past recharge time and the tiny mech was shaking his head, trying to stay awake. His dimmed optics locked on Prowl and he whimpered, reaching for the mech.

"None of us are," Prowl said, taking Jazz into his arms. The little sparkling immediately nestled up close to Prowl's chassis and drifted into recharge, content to be near a such a loving spark.

"Well, there's nothing more we can do tonight," Ratchet said. "I suggest everyone get a good night's recharge. I'll get Skyfire and Wheeljack on their feet by noon tomorrow. They're wounds are superficial…painful but nothing major damaged."

"Recharge is a good idea," Magnus agreed. "It's been a long day."

Elita nodded in agreement and looked to her bonded.

"Optimus, let's go," Elita ordered.

"Ah, no offense femme, but no way!" Optimus said adamantly. "I'm not stupid. I know you did that damage to those two mechs over there. I am not spending the night alone with you!"

"**Get your aft over here now**!" she ordered, pointing to the ground in front of her.

Optimus looked to his best friend for a little help here controlling the femme. Honestly, did they expect him to take orders from her too?

"She's your femme, Optimus…good luck," Magnus smirked and walked off towards the command center. He learned long ago to never get involved in a bonded couple's problems.

"Goodnight, Optimus," Prowl smiled and headed to his and Jazz's quarters.

"Get out of my med bay!" Ratchet said, holding up that blow torch again and kicking Optimus a good kick in the aft to get him moving.

Optimus' shoulders sagged and he reluctantly followed the femme. It seemed like he had no choice in the matter. His best friend even left him to fend for himself with this…femme.

She was pretty, he'll give her that much. His optics couldn't help but watch her form as he followed her through the halls. The curvy legs, slender arms and petite waist…and that aft! She was hot!

But his spark cringed at how much damage one small femme could do to two better than average size mechs. He was afraid of what she might do to him, alone and behind a closed door. Interfacing was not the first thing on his processor.

"We'll get this mess straightened out, Optimus," she said as she punched in a code on a door, presumably to their quarters.

The door opened and when he followed her in he immediately noticed one rather…large detail.

"Uh…where's _**my**_ recharge bed?" he asked, staring at the single largest recharge bed he'd ever seen.

"We're bonded, we share the bed," she answered, looking a bit tired.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," he replied nervously, staying near the door as she moved across the room. "I mean…I can't remember you. It wouldn't be right for me to…recharge with you. I'm just a youngling. Well, in my head I'm still a youngling. A pretty femme like you deserves better than me anyway…so…I'll just find somewhere else to recharge."

Before Elita could respond, Optimus backed out the door and ran. Only, instead of chasing after him, she lay down and curled up. Tears filled her optics. She wasn't sure how much more of this her spark could take. She missed her Optimus desperately. Having either a sparkling Optimus or this mature Optimus with only half his wits was torture for her spark.

What if they couldn't get her Optimus back?

Elita only wept harder at that thought until she fell into recharge.

Meanwhile, Optimus was going through his own spark ache as he found his way to the recreation room. It seemed as good a place as any to recharge even though the couch, was too small for him. He laid there in the darkness, feeling the sadness within his spark from the femme. He knew it was because of him, just like Grimlock was upset because of him.

Only Optimus didn't know what to do about the femme. Femmes were a complete mystery to him. And his processor was all messed up, he couldn't think straight. So he blocked the feeling and decided to recharge.

Perhaps things would be better in the morning.

_**The following morning**_

It was early morning when Prowl walked into the recreation room with Jazz in his arms. Both stared down at the mech recharging on his stomach, one arm on the floor, both big feet hanging well over the arm of the couch, head buried in the other corner of the couch.

"Some questions are better left unasked," Prowl mentioned to Jazz.

"Oppy?" Jazz questioned, pointing at the big red, blue and silvered mech.

"You recognize him?"

Jazz nodded.

"Yes, that's Optimus," he answered heading over to get Jazz a bottle.

Like yesterday morning, Prowl set Jazz on the center of the table with his bottle then went to get himself some energon. Jazz was well behaved…yesterday. This morning when Prowl turned his back, Jazz set his bottle down and climbed off the table, heading across the floor straight for Optimus.

"Psst! Jazz! No!" Prowl spoke softly, not wanting to wake Optimus. Primus knows the mech probably needed a good recharge.

Jazz shook his head no and patted Optimus' hand. It twitched, making Jazz giggle.

"Get back here!" Prowl insisted.

(_**raspberry!**_)

Prowl's mouth dropped open. Jazz never defied him like that, not even as a mature mech!

"Get that pint sized aft over here, now!" Prowl ordered, his tone indicating that he wasn't messing around.

The tiny silver mech giggled hysterically, thinking this was so fun, and climbed up Optimus' dangling arm and onto his back. Optimus jerked awake at the sudden sensations of something on his back. And in the commotion of Optimus turning to get up, Jazz slipped off and hit the floor.

(_**wails**_)

Optimus sighed wearily, looking down at the balling sparkling on the floor. Great someone else he made cry. Bending down, he picked up the tiny sparkling, instinctively cradling him close.

"Shh! I'm sorry little one. I didn't mean it."

"I think you startled him more than anything," Prowl said, noticing how Jazz immediately calmed down. "Sparklings can take a short fall like that."

"What…did you drop him?" Optimus giggled.

"Actually, I dropped you…on your head," he smirked, taking Jazz back and putting him on the table and sitting down. "It was your fault too. You wouldn't keep still and kicked your legs a lot harder than I was ready for. But you didn't cry when you hit the floor. You crawled away giggling."

"Sounds like me," he grinned proudly, sitting down. Jazz scooted over with his bottle to be in front of Optimus. "Ironhide said I was as tough as him and could take the dings and dents."

"You remember a lot about Ironhide," Prowl commented, watching as Optimus helped Jazz hold his bottle.

"Well, Sentinel may have been my adopted father but he was always so busy and Ironhide always seemed to be there when I needed someone. I remember you too."

"This can't be good."

"Are you still a tight aft?"

Now it was Optimus who was smirking.

"I don't recall you being this obnoxious the first time around as a teenager."

"I wasn't fully mature then. Now I am."

"Primus help us," Prowl muttered wishing for high grade instead of energon.

"Morning," Chromia smiled, walking in with a groggy Ironhide in her arms.

His head rested on her shoulder and he seemed intent on going back into recharge. But once he saw Jazz sitting on the table with an energon bottle he perked up.

"Hello," Optimus smiled warmly as the femme sat beside him.

"Don't get your hopes up," she replied, recognizing that look on a mech's face. "I'm bonded to Ironhide."

"Ironhide bonded…." Optimus said and then burst into laughter.

"What's so funny about that?" she growled.

"He frags just about any femme he can and told me he was never going to bond with one. When I asked him why, he said it was because he'd never find a femme as crazy as him."

"Well, that was until he met me."

"Oh, you like blowing stuff up too?

"Ka-boom!" Hide cheered, raising his arms in the air.

"Sounds like Hide," Optimus chuckled, poking the sparkling in the belling making him giggle. "Magnus explained to me about the accident and that it happened to Hide and Jazz too. I guess I'm glad they tried to bring me back first. This way they can figure out what went wrong before bringing Hide and Jazz back."

"That sounds more like the Optimus we're all so used to," Magnus commented from behind. Prowl shook his head indicating that Optimus still wasn't himself.

"That was so not cool of you, Magnus ditching me like that last night! I thought you were my best friend!" Optimus growled, getting right into Magnus' face.

"I left because the last time I tried to help Elita nearly blew my head off. There was no way in pit I was going to do that again. And sit down!"

Optimus narrowed his optics at Magnus. He didn't like it that everyone was ordering him around. He was Prime, wasn't he?

"Why were you recharging in the recreation room?" Prowl asked, breaking the silence as the two large mechs stared at each other.

"Because…it wasn't right for me to be in there with her," Optimus answered, dropping back into his chair. His attention focused back on the sparklings. "If I'm not all there in the CPU then I shouldn't be there to remind her of…what she's missing."

"Nice to know you kept your smarts," Magnus snorted. "Anyway, I'm heading off to recharge now and will be around noon. Elita and Blurr are out on reconnaissance. Bumblebee is out with Grimlock, keeping the big mech busy and his processor distracted. The twins have the day off since they're working the night shift tonight. So the Command Center is all yours, Prowl."

"Understood," Prowl acknowledged.

"Wait…what about me?" Optimus asked when Magnus was near the door.

Magnus didn't know what to do with Optimus. There was no way the mech was ready for duty. He was too old for a sparkling sitter.

"Why don't you help me with the sparklings?" Chromia smiled, noticing how Hide and Jazz took to Optimus. "Hide is an armful and Jazz as energy to spare. I could use the help."

"I don't know," Optimus sighed. "Sparkling duty is for femmes."

Chromia smacked him on the back of the head for that comment. It was all she dared do. If it was Ironhide, she'd have done a lot more.

"On the other hand…" Optimus quickly said, rubbing his aching head. "They are kind of cute."

"It's settled then. I'll see everyone later," Magnus said then left.

"What do sparklings do?" Optimus asked.

"Play, eat, and recharge," Chromia answered.

Jazz suddenly ejected some partially digested energon straight towards Optimus. Luckily, he was quick enough to move away before it splattered onto the table and chair.

"Oh, and that too," she said.

"Oops, sorry, too much to drink," Prowl grinned sheepishly. He grabbed a towel and wiped Jazz's face. "His tank isn't as big as Ironhide's."

"They don't give you any warning before they spew?"

"No," Chromia laughed at Optimus. "You just have to go with it."

"Here, take him," Prowl ordered, holding up Jazz to Optimus.

Optimus shook his head. Pit no! What if more came out?!

"He's not going to spit up anymore, I promise. That was just the excess. He'll recharge now for a little while then wake up to play."

"Oppy," Jazz grinned, reaching for the big mech. When he didn't get what he wanted, tears filled his optics and he started whimpering.

It was with some reluctance, a look that could kill from Prowl, but mainly because he didn't want Jazz to cry again, that made Optimus take hold of the little mech. But he held the tiny silver sparkling as far away from his chassis as possible. He wasn't taking any chances!

Jazz, on the other hand, thought Oppy was funny and kept giggling at him as they made their way through the base. Optimus even relaxed and started making faces at Jazz which only made him laugh harder. Even Ironhide, who was curious as to why Jazz was laughing, watched over Chromia's shoulder and giggled at the funny faces.

Chromia glanced back to see what was so funny as they entered the play room. It was just Optimus, looking normal as could be. But the moment she turned back, he made another face that sent both sparklings into wild giggle fits.

"You're a natural with sparklings," Chromia commented setting Hide on the floor with his bottle. "They don't laugh for everyone."

"Nah, I'm just more in touch with my younglinghood," he replied, putting Jazz on the floor next to Hide, watching him closely. "Literally."

Jazz crawled over to where some of the toys were laying and started playing with them.

"Do I do anything with him?"

"No, just leave them alone," she answered. "They'll fall into recharge in a few minutes."

Optimus sat down in a chair, watching Jazz pound a toy on the ground, making sparkling noises as loud as he could. He seemed to have more energy than Ironhide who opted to lie on his back while drinking down his bottle of energon, his optics already dimmed slightly as if heading into recharge.

"Then what happens?" Optimus asked.

"Oh, you'll see," she smirked.

* * *

Up next: Optimus and the sparklings have play time.


	34. Chapter 34

It starts off a little slow. I'm helping Chromia get some ammunition so Hide will give her a sparkling. I love happy endings. Sorry. Plus, it kind of sets up the next chapter. Please enjoy.

Again, thanks for all readers and the reviews!

* * *

Chromia glanced up from reading the datapad to see a look of utter boredom on Optimus' faceplates. The sparklings had only been in recharge for fifteen minutes. Yet, from the heavy sighs, the way he kept shifting in his seat, one would have thought it'd been hours.

"How long are they going to recharge for?"

"They'll wake when they're ready be patient."

"I'm thirteen. Patience is not in my vocabulary," he remarked making her laugh.

"I know," she started, struck by a thought. "Your quarters are across the hall. See if anything in there helps with your memories."

"No way! _**She**_ might come back!"

"Optimus, Elita will be out for hours. And even if she returns she'd have to report any findings to Prowl, which could take hours in itself depending on his mood."

"Well…ok," Optimus frowned as he got to his feet. He paused, glancing down at the two recharging sparklings on a pile of toys. "Do…do Elita and I have any sparklings?"

"No. We've all been too busy with the war against the Decepticons," she answered and noticed the sadness in his face. "But you've both been planning on having one now that things have calmed down."

Optimus looked at her, optic covers blinked slowly once. The sadness from the femme still resonating within his spark.

"No wonder she's so sad," he said and then straightened himself up with a determined looked. "You're right. Maybe something will jar my memories."

"Take your time," she smiled at him as he headed out the door. She'd gone back to reading her datapad. Then after a few astroseconds Optimus appeared back in the doorway, looking a bit helpless. "What is it?"

"Um…I don't know the code to unlock the door," he replied bashfully.

"Not a problem," she smiled. "_Prowl, this is Chromia. Can you override Optimus and Elita's door lock please? Optimus wants to look around and see if anything helps get his memories back."_

"_Ok…it's done."_

"It's open now. Prowl overrode the code from the Command Center."

"Thank you."

With that, Optimus returned and indeed the door lock was now green. His finger paused over the button for the longest moment. He wasn't sure what to expect or if he would remember anything. But he wanted to make Elita happy. It wasn't right that she was sad. She was too pretty of a femme to be sad.

He pushed the button and the door retracted then stepped into the room. Unlike last night, he closed the door behind him and moved into the middle of the room. From there, he glanced over everything in the room from the desk to the bed, ceiling to the floor, everything.

Nothing.

That was it! A recharge bed. A desk. A chair. And an almost barren shelving unit and even more bare walls. He moved over to the shelves and picked up what looked like a piece of art and then set it back down. Must be the femme's he mused. He'd never have such trinkets.

Next he reached up, feeling around on top of the shelving unit to see if anything was up there. After an astrosecond of groping he found something metal and pulled it down. Now the restraints were something he'd have. He was Prime right?

Optimus replaced the hand restraints then headed over to the desk and sat down. Only a few datapads were neatly stacked on the desk. The drawers were filled with more datapads.

"Is the only thing I do is work as Prime? Don't I have any fun?" he sighed, leaning back in the chair. His optics spotted something under the recharge bed. "Oh, what's that?"

Kneeling down beside the bed, he looked and saw it was a storage bin. Not a large one but a small one more for personal affects. Debating for an astrosecond, Optimus wondered if it was his or Elita's.

"If it's hers I won't look inside," he commented, pulling the bin out.

In small Cybertronian letters was his name etched above the lock. Optimus smiled, recognizing the bin. It was one Sentinel gave him. He even remembered the code and punched it in. With a small ping, the locks retracted and he removed the lid.

The first thing he noticed were a couple of picture-pads. Activating one he saw pictures of himself with Ironhide, Sentinel, Ratchet, Jazz, and even Prowl, although the mech didn't look to happy about it. Optimus remember it was because Jazz dragged him out of his office for the picture. The next picture was of him and the new youngling on the base, a shy mech, shorter than Optimus. He remembered it clearly. It took him a vorn to get Magnus to come out of his shell.

After viewing all the pictures of his younglinghood, some he remember most he didn't, he grabbed the other picture-pad. His spark fluttered upon seeing the femme's face. It was Elita. He recognized the look in her optics even though her armor was different. And the mech with her must be him. His armor was different too than what he has now.

They both looked happy in each picture. Well, except one. Obviously, he found something rather funny and was laughing. Elita wasn't and was glaring at him.

Optimus' shoulders sagged. Nothing seemed to help him remember. And he wanted to remember, if not for himself, for her…Elita.

This was depressing. He quickly put the pictures away and locked up the bin, replacing it under the bed. Then he headed back to the play room. At least watching the sparklings recharging wasn't as depressing.

"Oh Primus, I'd recognize those exhaust fumes anywhere," he commented, fanning the air. "You must be one brave femme to live with that, Chromia!"

"They're not that bad," she said, getting a bit tired of them commenting on how foul Ironhide's exhaust fumes smelled.

"If you say so. Hide could never out do my belches though," he smiled proudly. "Even when I was a little youngling. We'd have contests."

"You remember a lot about Ironhide, may I ask why?" she asked, genuinely curious, and searching for more ammo in her argument to get Ironhide to give her a sparkling.

"He and Ratchet were my unofficial guardians. Ratchet was a bit strict and was quick to get mad at me every time I got hurt. But Ironhide was fun! He took me off the base, taught me how to hold a weapon properly and even let me fire one. I think that if Sentinel hadn't adopted me, Ironhide would have."

"Oh really."

"Yeah, he was always there, worried, when I was hurt or had a systems upset. Sentinel was too, I love…loved him as if he was my real father. And Ironhide was the best second father or uncle a youngling could ever have. He'd let me get away with anything, within reason, would protect me from Prowl's wrath, and was always there to protect me when Decepticons attacked the base. He…he even knew how to help me with my nightmares when I was really young."

"So in your opinion, would he make a good father?"

"The best!" Optimus grinned.

"Thanks Optimus," she said, pleased with this new ammunition. No way Ironhide could refuse her now!

"Finally! They're waking up!" he said excitedly, getting down on the floor.

Jazz was stretching when a big face suddenly appeared before him. He was startled for a moment but then smiled recognizing who it was. First thing he did was reach for what he could grab on to.

"Ow! Those are sensitive!" Optimus yelled, prying little hands off his antennas.

Chormia covered her mouth to hide a smile. She was definitely going to have to tease Elita about that one. Not to mention, it was funny seeing Optimus this way, crawling on the floor, chasing sparklings around like he's still one himself.

She, like many, has only seen the calm, collected, courageous, and noble Optimus Prime. A true leader. This was a very rare glimpse into seeing what he was like before that. The enthusiasm, the laughter, the pure love for life and having a good time. His reputation as being spawned by Primus as a fully mature mech wrecker has been totally ruined.

"Can you handle them for a couple of minutes? I need to go get them their second breakfast."

"Sure," Optimus smiled, thinking this was the easiest job ever.

The astrosecond the door closed behind her, leaving Optimus alone with two fully charged sparklings, all hell broke loose. Jazz sped over and climbed into a toy bin and started tossing the toys out. Ironhide went over and tried to see how many he could stick in his mouth at one time.

"Hide, they're not food," Optimus chuckled, prying open the black sparkling mouth and pulling the small toys out.

One toy had gone all the way into Ironhide's mouth and Optimus had to stick a finger in a ways to reach the toy. Hide instinctively bit down…hard.

Optimus jerked up right, screaming with the sparkling attached to his finger. Not even thinking he shook his hand to free his finger from the dangling sparkling. The very action of course sent Hide to the floor. The sparkling instantly started crying as loud as he could.

"Oh slag! Don't cry!"

Jazz, not to be out done, started yelling and screaming as loud as he could while banging the toys against the side of the bin he was sitting in.

"Jazz, be quiet please," Optimus begged, reaching for the toys in the silver mech's hands intent on quieting him down so he could focus on Ironhide.

The tiny sparkling reacted fast, scampering out of the bin with a toy in hand and crawled as fast as he could across the room…giggling. Optimus briefly debated about chasing him but opted instead to pick up Ironhide and try to console him first.

"I'm sorry," he cooed, patting Ironhide on the back as he held him close to his chest. "If you hadn't bit me you wouldn't have ended up on the floor." Ironhide started to quiet down, tears still streaming down his faceplates. "Better now?"

Hide abruptly heaved up a fair amount of digested energon all over Optimus' chest armor and then smiled. He was feeling much better now. Optimus shuddered as the warm substance slowly tickled down his chest armor. When he dared to look down he saw the toy was stuck in the thick of the brown spew, not moving. It's tiny face staring up at him as if mocking him.

That was enough to almost make Optimus expel his own tanks. If not that, then the stench was going to if he had to endure it much longer. So, he gingerly walked over, not wanting the revolting spew to move any faster down his frame, and set Hide on the couch.

"Don't move from that spot or else!" Optimus threatened, pointing a stern finger at Hide but making sure it was a good distance from the sparkling's mouth. He turned to see Jazz sitting there with his prize, optic covers blinking innocently up at him. "And you; be quiet!"

With that done, Optimus bolted for the washroom and turned the cleansing reagent on full force. He couldn't wait until Chromia got back. This stinking slag had to come off now!

But of course, the sparklings could not be quiet. Their loud squeals and happy screams echoed into the washroom. Oh well, at least they weren't crying and Optimus could hear them while he showered. The hot spray actually felt good too, making Optimus totally relax for the first time since waking up yesterday.

Peace and serenity never lasted when sparklings were nearby.

Just as he closed his optics covers, a loud crash sounded. At first all he did was listen. Only when he didn't hear anything, not even a beep, did he turn the solvent off. Still, nothing. Worried, he stepped out of the shower, dripping wet, still with some suds on him, and moved quickly to the door, hoping neither of the sparklings were hurt.

"What the frag are you two doing?!" he shouted, seeing Ironhide sitting on the rail of the recharge crib and Jazz trying to stay balanced on top of Ironhide's head.

Optimus' voice made Hide jerk his head which in turn made Jazz lose his balance. This, in turn, made Ironhide lean to one side and lose his balanced seat on the rail, causing both sparklings to fall. Optimus moved as fast as he could to rescue them but failed to notice a once full toy bin, which had fallen making the loud crashing noise, had spilled its contents and were now in his path.

Chromia came back in just as Optimus tripped and fell face first on the ground, literally shaking the room with the force of the impact. The two sparklings hit the floor at the same time as his face. The big red, blue and silver mech groaned grabbing his head. Jazz and Ironhide shook their heads, and then squealed with delight when they saw Optimus before them.

Both Jazz and Hide crawled over, climbed up onto Optimus' back and cheered victoriously.

"You know Optimus, there are easier ways to give them a bath," she commented, shooing the sparklings off so he could get up. They grumbled and blew raspberries at her. Chromia just rolled her optics and ignore the pit spawns for now.

"I was the one showering after Hide bit me and then puked on me," he said, getting to his feet. "Listen, I'm not cut out for sparkling duty! They're a nightmare!"

"No, they just smell fresh energon and took advantage of you," she smiled. "Go finish your shower." Optimus nodded and walked into the washroom, leaving her alone with the sparklings. "You two are so bad. Look at this mess."

Both looked up her, pictures of pure innocence with big smiles and big blue optics.

"But you are cute," she said, bending down and pinching their cheeks making them giggle.

Chromia actually felt a little bad for Optimus. She didn't think Ironhide and Jazz could be _**that**_ bad in just a few minutes time. So once he was done with his shower she sent him to Prowl. Perhaps Prowl had something more suited for Optimus to do.

"Sorry, Optimus. I'm kind of busy right now. Elita and Blurr think they've found Barricade and I need to focus on assisting them."

Optimus sighed, his shoulders sagged.

Prowl heard and turned from the computer console.

"Optimus, you've never taken time off for yourself. As Prime you didn't have the luxury most other mechs have. So, take advantage of this rare opportunity and go have some fun," he said and then smiled. "That's an order."

Optimus nodded his head and dragged himself out of the command center. He honestly didn't know what he liked to do for fun. He and Magnus used to cause havoc around the base but Magnus was all mature now. He probably didn't have fun anymore either.

"Oh…I know!" Optimus exclaimed to himself and took off running. "They did say to come see them if I wanted a good time!"

* * *

Up next: Well, I don't have to tell you. You all know who's involved!


	35. Chapter 35

Sorry it took so long. RL kind of put my writing on hold.

Let's see what kind of trouble Optimus gets into now. Shall we? Hehe. Please enjoy!

* * *

Bumblebee had just left Grimlock with Chromia and the sparklings before heading to the Twins' quarters. It seemed the only way to make the big guy happy was to play with Hide and Jazz. Although it was apparent that he missed Optimus. But then…

_WHACK!_

A runaway semi named Optimus couldn't stop when he turned a corner to find Bumblebee right there. The big mech didn't realize he could run so fast! It took him several strides to get his momentum going that fast so there was no way he was going to get his large mass to make a sudden stop like that.

"Oops! Slag! Sorry!"

"Ow…" Bumblebee moaned, feeling himself being lifted off the floor, his optics and stunned CPU coming back on line.

"You ok? I'm really sorry. Frag! I feel so uncoordinated. I'm not used to being so…_**big**_."

"That's ok. What's the hurry anyway?"

"I was looking for Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Do you know where they are?"

"Optimus, use you're communicator to call them," Bumblebee chuckled.

"I have a communicator?"

"Yes, you do. You're a fully mature mech wrecker."

"Oh yeah. I keep forgetting I have armor and stuff."

"Come with me, they're in their quarters," Bee smiled, shaking his head, leading him down the hallway. This Optimus was going to take some time to get used to. Things could get interesting.

"Thank you," Optimus replied politely.

"May I ask why you're looking for them?"

"They're the fun bots right? I'm not sure what to do for fun on this base and figured they knew. Before, back in Decagon, Magnus and I used to play war games. Ironhide gave us deactivated plasma guns to play with. Magnus and I even used to try to sneak into femmes' section of the base. You know to see one without their armor on. They're protoforms are supposed to look totally different from a youngling femme's protoform."

"That they are," Bumblebee grinned, recalling how he and the twins used to try and do the same thing when they were teenagers. They were successful a few times too.

They came to a stopped and Bumblebee pushed the button to open the twins' door. The two of them walked in to see Sunny and Sides sitting on a couch. Before them was a huge monitor on the wall. Bumblebee recognized the Need for Speed racing video game.

"Get off me fragger!" Sunny yelled, his yellow car on the screen jerking across the lines and slamming into the red car.

"I would but you're hogging the whole slaggin road!" Sides yelled back, his red car veered around an oncoming car and then slammed into Sunny's car.

The two cars pushed at each other on the screen as the two brothers pushed at each other on the couch. It went that way for a few minutes until finally they broke out in a fight and started punching each other, yelling Cybertronian curse words.

"On second thought, maybe I'll go find something to do on my own," Optimus said, nervously. "This doesn't look like fun."

"It's ok. They do this all the time," Bumblebee sighed. "Guys, break it up! Is that anyway to act in front of Optimus?"

Both brothers looked up to see Optimus standing behind Bumblebee. Reluctantly each one released the head lock they had on the other and got to their feet.

"Which one of you is which?" Optimus asked, optics looking from one to the other. Magnus didn't point that out when he introduced them.

"I'm the handsome one, Sunny," the yellow mech smiled, point a thumb at himself. "And this is my bro, Sides."

"You both look exactly alike," Optimus commented.

"I've been telling him that for eons," Sides said, arms crossed over his chest. He was still mad at Sunny. "He's in denial."

"Guys!" Bee shouted, quickly stepping between the brothers before they had an all out brawl. "Optimus came here to have some fun. Not to watch you play grab aft!"

"Yeah, Prowl ordered me to have fun and to enjoy myself," Optimus helpfully interjected. He really wanted to have fun.

"Oh really," Sunny mused, he and his brother grinning wickedly to each other, the two of them in perfect agreement on what to do. "Well, since Prowl _**ordered**_ you to have some fun…then lets go have some fun!"

"Yeah, come with us Optimus. We'll show you how to have fun around here," Sides said as he and his brother put their arms around Optimus.

"Are you guys thinking about what I think you are?" Bumblebee asked following them out of the room.

"There's plenty of room outside, it's all desert," Sides said.

"So no chance of us doing any damage to anything," Sunny added.

"Except to yourselves," Bee snorted.

"Well you don't have to come, Bee," Sides countered.

"Why are we going outside?" Optimus asked.

"To race and have _**fun**_," Sunny answered, grinning from audio receptor to audio receptor.

"How are we going to do that?"

"Optimus, you can transform," Bumblebee replied.

"I can?" he asked, looking down at his large form. He was looking forward to the day when he could transform into an alt form. Now he could! A big grin and huge optics formed on his face. "How do I do that?!"

"Whoa! Slow down big fella," Sunny smirked. "Let's get outside first then I'll give you a few pointers."

"Ok!" Optimus grinned excitedly.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to end in disaster?" Bumblebee muttered.

"Because you always have to go and be so responsible," Sunny countered.

"One of us had to otherwise the three of us would have offlined long ago from your antics, Sunny. Besides, I know how to have fun too."

"That you do, Bee," Sides laughed, wrapping an arm around the scout's shoulders.

Optimus knew he made the right decision as he followed them. This was going to be fun!

"Oh wow! Is this an organic planet?!" Optimus asked exuberantly. "I've read about them and only seen pictures. But to be on one…WOW!"

"Yes, this is a planet called Earth," Bumblebee answered.

"We can sight see later. Bee and Sides go ahead and transform. Now, Optimus," Sunny said as Bumblebee and Sides transformed. "We'll watch Bee and Sides do a few basic driving maneuvers so you understand how these alt forms move. Then we'll let you try."

Optimus nodded, paying close attention. He didn't want to mess this up. They might not want him around for fun if he slagged things up.

Right away, his spark rate increased as the two vehicle forms raced off, leaving a dust cloud in their wake. He didn't even think about it. His transformation systems simply reacted and he transformed into a vehicle form that was more massive then he'd ever imagined.

"Well, you've got that part down," Sunny laughed.

"Now what do I do?!"

"Hold on, hold on," Sunny said, quickly transforming and moving into position beside Optimus. "_We'll use our comlinks, ok?_"

"_Ok!_"

"_Fire up your engine._"

Optimus sat there, trying to figure out how exactly to fire up his engine. He could hear Sunny's engine revving as well as Bumblebee and Sides' as they came to a stop.

"_Don't think too hard, Optimus_," Bee instructed. "_Sort of let it happen._"

The three small mechs revved their engines, trying to encourage Optimus to get his going. And it worked. The big powerful engine roared to life. The sound of its roar drowned out the other three small engines.

"_**SWEET!**_" he cheered, making them all laugh at his enthusiasm.

"_Reminds me of me when I was that age_," Sunny chuckled.

"_What do you mean at that age? You're still like that_!" Bee pointed out.

"_Whatever, I'm trying to give Optimus a driving lesson here. Now, open up the throttle and just ease forward._"

The Peterbilt flamed semi jerked forward and then the engine sputtered off, making the twins roar with laughter over their comlinks. Optimus sank in his suspension a bit embarrassed and dejected.

"_Guys, no one gets it on their first shot, not even you did Sunny_!" Bee chided. "_Try again Optimus. Everyone stalls out from time to time."_

"_Ok_," Optimus replied and started the engine up again.

This time he was able to move forward and keep the engine running.

"_That's good! Now go a little faster and see if you can follow me in a circle,_" Bumblebee instructed, pulling in front of Optimus.

Bee was only going about twenty miles an hour. He didn't want to go too fast for Optimus who was having trouble steering. He also had to refrain from laughing as Optimus didn't quite have a handle on how much power to give the engine nor did he know how to brake slowly. A couple of times he nearly rear ended Bumblebee when he lurched forward. Lots of dust filled the air from the hard braking he was doing too.

It was all good. The mech had to relearn some time.

"_I think I'm getting the hang of it_!" Optimus said excitedly after he was finally able to smoothly follow Bumblebee around in a circle and a figure eight pattern. He even braked without jerking his massive form.

"_Let's see if you can keep up_!" Sunny yelled as he and his brother peeled out of there.

"_Sunny!_" Bumblebee shouted to no avail. Optimus had already sped off after them. Quickly putting it in gear, Bee followed the dust cloud and caught up. "_Guys, not too fast!_"

"_You worry too much, Bee_!"

"_And you don't worry enough, Sunny! Sides, help me out here!_"

"_Well…Prowl did order Optimus to have fun_," Sides said. Optimus was racing along side Sunny and keeping up with him easily. "_He seems to be having fun now._"

Bumblebee sighed trailing just behind them. Optimus did look like he was having fun. He and Sunny kept veering at each other without actually hitting each other. And Bee could hear Optimus was laughing.

'Frag! I'm turning into Prowl!' Bee suddenly thought to himself.

"_You want to have fun…follow me_!" Bumblebee said, making a sharp turn, intent on _**not**_ being like Prowl.

The others turned to follow. Optimus' vehicle form couldn't make the turn as sharply but he managed to pull off a nice power slide. He was quick to catch up to them and found it was really easy to match their speed of ninety miles an hour.

Of course, while their dust clouds were only visible to the animals on the desert, their energy signatures were picked up by Teletran which Prowl had been monitor closely. He was afraid if Optimus got near the twins something like this might have happened.

"_**GET OPTIMUS BACK TO THE BASE NOW!**_" his voice boomed into the three small mechs' comlinks. He didn't want to scare Optimus with as fast as he was driving.

"_What was…_" (_**static**_) "_…t. You're…_" (_**static**_) "…_break…_" (_**static**_) "_…up!_" (_**static**_)

If Sunny and Sides were in their robot mode their mouths would be wide open. Bumblebee basically just ignored Prowl's orders and fed the second in command fake static.

"_Let's fly guys_!" he told them as he just went airborne after hitting a sloped dune.

The twins didn't hesitate to mimic their friend. And neither did Optimus. He hit the sloped dune at over a hundred miles an hour. His massive form lifted into the air like the others and landed with a heavy thud. His back end fish tailed a bit before he was able to regain control.

"_That was fun! Can we do that again?!_" he asked, totally oblivious to what Prowl had told the others.

"_Guys! Guys! Stop! We have to make the most of this!_" Sunny said, knowing they were going to spend a day or two in the brig for this stunt. May as well make it all worth it.

The four of them slammed on the brakes, coming to a stop. Sunny quickly transformed into his robot mode. As they others did the same, Optimus immediately noticed a canister in Sunny's hand.

"Here," Sunny said, holding the canister up for Optimus to take.

"What is it?" he asked, taking the canister.

"High grade."

"Whoa! Sunny, I don't think that's a good idea," Bumblebee said.

"Why? He's mature. And with his bulk I'm sure he can drink more than us. Besides I'm sure Ironhide has let him have sip or two like he did to us."

"Yes Hide has. On a number of occasions!" Optimus said, not hesitating to take a drink. It was a little different from what he remembered. But still tasted good just the same.

Bumblebee gave Sunny a look.

"What? Like this situation is ever going to happen again," Sunny remarked.

"In that case, here's mine," Sides grinned handing over his to Optimus.

"Chug it down fast Optimus, we don't have much time," Sunny told him.

Bumblebee decided to go with it. Sunny was right. This was never going to happen again. So he pulled his own reserve supply of High Grade out and handed it over.

Little did they realize the consequences of their actions. If any of them had been able to recall, they have never seen Optimus drink more than one canister very slowly. If they had, they'd know that when Optimus drinks more high grade than he should, at a fast pace, he gets over energized…with energy to spare.

Optimus drank down each one as quickly as he could. He really liked it so it wasn't a problem.

(_**BURRPP!**_)

"Whoa! Good one!" they cheered at him.

"That was good," Optimus grinned, feeling rather…energized. "Can I have more?"

"Maybe later when we sneak back on the base," Sunny snickered.

"Or maybe not!" Sides yelped pointing to a rapidly approaching dust cloud.

"Slag! It's Prowl!" Bumblebee shouted.

Before they even turned around to tell their Prime to run, Optimus had already transformed and sped away. He had enough experience at thirteen to know to avoid Prowl's wrath at all costs! And he didn't have Ironhide to help him out this time so he put that excess super charged energy into his engines.

"Frag…we're so dead," Sunny swallowed hard as Optimus was already a mile away and gaining speed.


	36. Chapter 36

If I forgot to mention it, sorry, italics are comlink chatter. Oops, my bad.

Again, no sparklings in this chapter. Next chapter we'll get back to the sparklings.

* * *

Prowl was on approach to their location when he noticed that Optimus had raced away at speeds over one hundred thirty miles an hour. The three deviants gave chase, presumably to stop him. Prowl over rode security protocols to open their comlinks so he could hear them. Not that he needed to hear what they were say; he already had a good idea.

"_We're slagged if we don't get him back!_" Sunny shouted in a panic.

"_I don't think we're going to be able to catch him!_" Sides said.

"_Yeah…I didn't realize Optimus could drive __**that**__ fast! I've never seen him once break the speed limit on this planet and back on Cybertron._" Bumblebee commented.

"_Optimus this is Prowl, I'm order you to stop!_"

"…"

"_Frag!_ _Get Magnus up! Recall Elita and Blurr. We may need Blurr's speed to catch him._"

"_Catch who? What the frag is going on?_" the City Commander questioned sounding a bit groggy.

"_Optimus! He's heading towards the city and heading there fast!_"

"_Got it._"

"_Ratchet, this is Prowl!_"

"_What happened now?_" the CMO asked with a sigh over the comlink.

"_Is Wheeljack and Skyfire fixed up yet?_"

"_I was about to discharge the…_"

"_Good, have them make repairs on the shuttle and get it in the air now! You get on that shuttle too. I have a bad feeling about this._"

"_Primus, what did the twins do now?_"

"_I'm still trying to figure that out. All I know is Optimus is on the loose in his alt form and we need to coral him in before he does any damage._"

A long string of Cybertronian curse words sounded before Ratchet said he'd get Jack and Skyfire working on the shuttle.

"_Prowl, this is Magnus. I have Elita and Blurr on an intercept course for Optimus. Blurr might have a chance but I doubt he'll cut him off before Optimus reaches the city._"

"_Understood_," Prowl responded. "_Sunny, Sides, Bumblebee…get Optimus to stop!_"

"_We're trying but he's not responding to our comlinks!_" Bee said.

Prowl turned his sirens on and turned up the speed.

"_Get in formation behind me_," he ordered blasting past them. "_And pray Optimus doesn't damage himself. Because if he does I'll let Elita deal with the three of you!_"

Meanwhile, up ahead of them, the high grade was having an adverse affect on Optimus. It did give him a surge of energy that he was putting to good use. But it was beginning to really mess with his CPU. It was buzzing something fierce and giving him a headache.

Blurred images flashed through his processor. Faint sounds of explosions echoed through his audio receptors. Ghost readings fed his sensors as his over energized, muddled processor was having difficulty distinguishing reality from memory.

Optimus suddenly veered left, his sensors telling him that a grenade had landed in his path even though nothing was there but sand. Only he was going way to fast for such a defensive maneuver. He fought against his own weight to right himself but it was too late as his right side had already lifted off the ground.

Even though Prowl and the others were still a good distance away, they could hear the sickening sound of twisting metal. They watched helplessly as their Prime's alt form rolled and flipped numerous times before disappearing into a large dust cloud kicked up from the crash.

"_**RATCHET! GET OUT HERE NOW**__!_" Prowl shouted, his spark trembling in fear.

"_But the shutt…_"

"_**Frag the shuttle…we're only twenty miles north of the base…hurry!**_"

"_On my way!_"

"_I can't see a thing_!" Sunny swallowed, feeling terrible and knowing no amount of punishment Prowl would give him would make him feel better if Optimus was badly damaged.

"_My sensors indicate he's still online,_" Bumblebee informed them.

"_Only one way to find out_," Prowl said, coming to a sliding stop and transformed.

The others followed him and stood beside him. Quiet. Concerned. Searching for a sign of activity from their Prime in the thick dust cloud. The only sound was the grainy sand hitting their armor as their own sandy cloud drifted past them.

Prowl took a step forward and then halted at the sound of a transformation sequence. A dark massive shadow rose up in the cloud. Next sounded an all too familiar hum of a weapon charging. A moment later, Optimus emerged battle ready, weapon locked, loaded, and aimed right at them, optics flaring over his mask.

"_Do nothing!_" Prowl ordered trusting that Optimus would not fire on an unarmed mechanism. He never did even if it was a 'Con. Still, Prowl's spark was racing, not know what to expect or how much of Optimus was really in there!

"Tell my _**brother**_ he's getting better at disguising you Decepticons as Autobots. Still, he's going to have to do better than the four of you if he plans on taking me prisoner again!" Optimus growled then took off running.

"Optimus! Wait! It's us!" Sunny yelled.

"No, don't chase him," Prowl said, holding the young mech back. "Race around him, block his route and force him back this way. Whatever you do, do not draw your weapons."

"What if he fires at us?" Bumblebee asked.

"He won't. Optimus will never fire at an unarmed mechanism, Autobot or Decepticon. Do not engage him in hand to hand either, he will rip you apart. Now go! And don't slag this up."

"We won't," Sunny replied as they transformed.

"_Magnus, Elita…I'm going to need the two of you. What's your ETA?"_

"_I'll be arriving in a few minutes with Ratchet,"_ Magnus answered.

"_I'm about ten minutes from the base," _Elita answered. "_Why, what's going on with Optimus._"

"_Not sure, but Optimus' processor has matured a bit more. Only down side…he thinks we're 'Cons._"

"_Why would he think that?"_ Magnus asked.

"_He was driving a bit erratic and wrecked, maybe his CPU got jarred a bit_," Prowl answered.

"_Optimus never drives erratic_!" Elita said in defense of her mech. "_Unless something was wrong with him._"

"_Well…we did give him some High Grade_," Bumblebee spoke softly.

"_How much?!_" Ratchet demanded.

"_Three…_"

"_**WHAT?! ARE YOU FRAGGIN CRAZY?!**_" Ratchet screamed making everyone wince and turn the volume down in their audio receptors.

"_Won't he just pass out?_" Sunny feebly asked.

"_Not Optimus. High Grade has the opposite affect on him_," Magnus answered. "_In fact, he and Ironhide are the only two mechs I know who get an energy boost from high grade."_

"_We can use that too our advantage_," Prowl suggested.

"_Right, make him use up the energy until his systems crash and burn from the energy high,_" Ratchet said. "_The burst of energy never lasts very long._"

"_I don't like this idea._"

"_That's duly noted, Elita. But what choice have we?_" Prowl questioned.

"_I've caught up with Bumblebee and the twins_," Blurr announced.

"_Excellent, you guys must force Optimus to retreat back towards us_," Magnus ordered as his semi form and Ratchet's alt form pulled up to where Prowl was. The two of them transformed and stood beside Prowl. "I can handle Optimus. We've had many friendly and a couple not so friendly, wrestling matches over the eons."

"You're going to have to since we don't have Ironhide," Ratchet sighed. "And he'd turn the rest of us into scrap if we tried."

"_He fired at us!_" Bumblebee yelped.

"_Those are warning shots, don't back down_," Magnus said.

"_That was too close for a warning shot! He ruined my new paint job_!" Sunny whined. "_Slag, I'm gonna have to buff that out later!_"

"_Your paint job is the least of your problems, Sunny! I'm going to rip you apart bolt by bolt when this is all over_!" Elita snarled over the comlink. "_And you're next Magnus if you hurt Optimus! Which I still think is a bad idea!_"

"I'm more worried about what he'll do to me," the City Commander muttered to himself. Even if Magnus was bigger, they were of equal strength and Optimus was the more nimble of the two.

A few miles away, Optimus was getting slaggin pissed off! These four 'Cons were kicking up so much sand it was going to take weeks to get it out of the crevices between his armor. But he couldn't just shoot them either; they had yet to shoot at him. He was an honorable mech. An Autobot. He never took advantage of another in combat that way. It was not his way, it was the Decepticon way.

After a couple of more accurate warning shots he was able to get away from them. Yet, even as he ran, he couldn't help but feel that they were forcing him back the way he came by cutting him off from certain directions. So be it. Anything was better than standing around getting sprayed with sand.

It was then that he noticed the big beg looming in the distance. He taller than Optimus but he couldn't tell if it was his brother or not. He didn't feel the coldness of his brother's spark. It was always there whenever they battled.

However, Optimus felt…he felt something else. Something warm, kind…loving.

And it was getting closer.

"_**Slag! Elita get back here**_!" Magnus yelled when Elita-One rocketed past them. "_**That's an order!"**_

"_You can't order me, Magnus! I out rank you! I'm not going to let you beat the slag out of Optimus. Not if I can reach him and calm him down without a fight._"

Elita raced on, hearing Prowl give the order for everyone to stand down. It was obvious she wasn't giving them any choice in this matter.

She could feel Optimus tentatively reaching for her through their spark bond, curious as to whom she was. She let him feel the love and adoration she had for him. She was hoping he had matured enough to understand how much she loved him even if he couldn't remember her yet.

Her sparkmate came to a stop, putting away his weapon and retracting his mask. Elita could tell he was apprehensive. A wrong move and he'd run rather than seek confrontation. It was not cowardly of him. There wasn't a tiny spec of cowardice within Optimus' frame or spirit. It was the situation. He didn't have enough information or cause to fight any of them right now.

Yeah, that was her mech, always using his head. Even if he wasn't all there.

Braking slowly, Elita eased to a stop and transformed several yards from Optimus. His optics widened in surprise.

"You're a femme!"

"Yes, Optimus I am. More importantly…I'm your femme."

Optimus took a step back in disbelief.

"Do you remember me? I'm Elita-One…I'm your sparkmate."

"Is that you I feel?"

"Yes," she answered, taking a step closer. Optimus took two back.

"How can we be sparkmates? We only just met."

"You had an accident. Your memories are all slagged up in your processor. Those mechs you think are 'Cons…those are our friends. Look around…does this look like Cybertron?"

His brown creased. Elita moved closer, knowing he was thinking about what she told him.

"You know I'm speaking the truth," she said. "You can feel it."

"My brother was very good at only allowing me to feel what he wanted through our bond…"

"I'm not Megatron! I'm not a fraggin 'Con! I love you and would never lie to you. Nor would I ever keep anything from you."

Optimus' optic covers blinked a few times as he stared down at the rosy red femme. She was a fiery femme, just like the Elita he remembered. And she didn't hesitate to talk back to him, just like the Elita he remembered. She was even as beautiful as he remembered.

And just like that, while thinking of Elita, the flood gates opened. Optimus staggered grabbing his head. His CPU was buzzing from trying to process too much too fast. He felt as if every single memory was trying to come forth all at once.

"Elita…" he whimpered in pain, reaching for her.

"I'm here! Ratchet is coming," she wept, feeling his pain.

Elita lent her body to support his mass. Only problem was she wasn't counting on his CPU to suddenly shut down for a reboot. No way in pit could she hold him up! Nor could she move out of the way in time as he large, massive form fell.

"Optimus, you're such a lugnut!" she snapped, laying there helpless until someone lifts him up off of her.

"Really, Elita, we thought you'd be used to this position with all the interfacing and spark bonding you and Optimus do," Sunny smirked, staring down at her.

"Unless, she's the kind of them that likes to be on top," Sides commented.

"True, very true bro. Elita is a very dominating femme," Sunny said and then grinned, because he just couldn't help himself. "And she's rather enthusiastic with all the noises she makes. I guess she can't do that if she's on the bottom all the time."

"**I'll show you dominating you fraggers**!" she yelled as they raced off, taking advantage of the fact that she was trapped.

"Relax, Elita," Magnus grunted as he and Ratchet rolled Optimus off her and onto his back. "Prowl and Blurr are after them. Wheeljack and Skyfire even got the tracker beam working on the shuttle."

"And I'd rather you _**didn't**_ go after them," Ratchet grumbled, kneeling beside Optimus. He confirmed his suspicion. Optimus' CPU was rebooting. "I've had enough of fixing the dings and dents you've caused lately."

_WHACK!_

"OW!" Ratchet screamed.

"Oops, my bad! I guess that's one more dent for you to fix!" she smiled.

* * *

Up next: Optimus wakes up and gets the debriefing of a lifetime as his troops are eager to share their stories about him as a sparkling! We'll find out just how much of it all he remembers. Plus, he visits with sparkling Ironhide and sparkling Jazz.

a/n: I didn't to drag out Optimus' losing his processor too far. This story is about sparklings and I needed to get back to them. So don't shoot me!


	37. Chapter 37

This chapter deals with just Optimus waking up and what he remembers. It's humorous and good for a laugh. I decided to give an entire chapter to Optimus and the sparklings. So that will be the next chapter. Just bear with me, it might take some time to post because of RL issues.

* * *

Much to Elita's disappointment, Prowl was rather efficient in getting Bumblebee and the twins into the brig _**before**_ she arrived back on the base with Ratchet, Magnus and Optimus. Perhaps later she'd deal with the three young mechs.

For now she was needed at Optimus side in the Med Bay. If he came back part way, perhaps he'd soon regain all his memories. At least that's what she was hoping for. She missed him and was still desperate to apologize to him.

As if feeling her desperation, Optimus groaned, reaching for his head with one hand, bringing Ratchet, Prowl and Magnus over.

"Optimus?" she called, wrapping her fingers around his.

He returned the gesture, his optic covers opening at the same time.

"Ow, my fragging processor," he muttered. "This feels worse than a hangover."

"Considering what you went through, I'm not surprise," Ratchet smiled down, injecting a pain reliever into Optimus neck.

"Thanks, Ratchet," the big mech sighed, his optics focusing more on Elita. His spark fluttered with worry. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm so glad to have you back," she said, quickly wiping her tears away.

"Back? Where did I go?" he asked, confused.

"Optimus, what's the last thing you remember?" Ratchet asked.

"Elita and I had an argument. I recharged in Wheeljack's lab and in the morning helped him move some fragging heavy piece of equipment. After that…it's kind of fuzzy. I remember seeing Grimlock…there was high grade…lots of sand. And…and then I felt Elita and woke up."

"Well, as your second in command I feel it is my duty to inform you that you are one the most bratty sparklings I've ever seen," Prowl smiled.

"I agree," Magnus said, his arms folded across his chest. "You puked, lubricated, and were very noisy. I never new one little sparkling could wreak that much havoc!"

"But you sure were adorable," Elita grinned warmly, caressing his forehead.

Optimus narrowed his optics, staring at each of them in turn. Where they being serious? Or were they joking?

Prowl to be in on a joke was impossible. The mech couldn't tell a joke, nor did he try. Nor did he get jokes until after Jazz explained them to him. He had gotten better about them. But still, Prowl would not joke about something like this.

Magnus and Ratchet on the other hand could pull off a joke like this. Ratchet would never hesitate to get back at Optimus. Only Ironhide was usually right there with him and the weapon specialist was nowhere to be seen. Magnus was always pulling jokes on Optimus as they grew up but he stopped when Optimus became Prime.

Then there was Elita. The femme loved pulling pranks on Optimus and did them when he least expected it. On the other hand, she didn't shed tears unless something happened to him. And whatever happened, something about Elita had changed…for the better. He could feel it.

"So, tell me what happened," he ordered as he sat up, his hand not letting go of Elita's.

"Apparently, it all started when Wheeljack activated the device you helped him move," Prowl started. "It turned you into a sparkling. And for some reason, Jack thought it was a good idea to leave you alone when he went to look for Ratchet. Whereupon, Jazz found you and assumed you were…well he assumed you and Elita finally had a sparkling."

"Yeah, after Jazz and Bumblebee brought you into the recreation room, and you lubricated on me," Magnus said, glaring making Optimus shift uneasily on his aft. "Then I made the mistake, leaving you alone with Bumblebee. The twins showed up and all hell broke loose. You'd have to watch the video recordings of that one to believe it."

"I'm not sure I want to," Optimus admitted, still trying to get over the fact that everyone saw him as a sparkling. How much of his leadership was going to suffer from this?!

"You really love your high grade," Ratchet chuckled. "Ironhide and I used to have to chase you down when you were a youngling when you got hold of the stuff. But to watch that video and see you as a sparkling determined to keep it…it was hilarious."

"Anyway, it was after that when we found out the sparkling was actually you," Prowl added.

"And who had the task of telling Elita?" Optimus asked, amused by all of what they were saying. And just a little bit embarrassed. His reputation as a mech wrecker has definitely taken a blow.

"Wheeljack actually had enough courage to apologize for turning you into a sparkling," Elita said sadly. "Then I over reacted and nearly destroyed half the base."

"After the dust settled, and all the injuries were repaired, Wheeljack went to work on trying to find a way to fix you," Ratchet continued. "While recharging on his lab table, Ironhide managed to turn himself into a sparkling."

"What?" Optimus laughed in disbelief.

"The two of you got a long well even though Hide did bite one of your antennas," Elita smiled.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Optimus chuckled.

"Yeah, we thought it'd be a good idea to let Bumblebee and the twins sparkling sit the two of you…as payback," Magnus chuckled.

"Primus! You didn't!"

"Yup, we did," Ratchet added. "It wasn't as disastrous as we thought it might be. Bumblebee dropped you and Ironhide got stepped on. But that was the worst of it. It's funny, Hide really took to Sunny and vice versa."

"Now that doesn't surprise me," Optimus smiled thoughtfully. "I'm looking forward to reading everyone's reports on this incident."

"But it gets better," Magnus smirked.

"Better than Ironhide and me as sparklings?"

"Oh yeah, Jazz got turned into a sparkling too," Prowl smiled, looking rather proud too. "The three of you had lots of fun together. Regular mini mech wreckers when you were together."

"With Grimlock," Optimus commented after recalling a specific memory of the big bot roaring in his face. "He's here, isn't he? I remember seeing him?"

"Yes," Magnus frowned. "He's here. He's a favorite playmate. Who'd have guessed the big guy was good with sparklings."

"What happened?" Optimus asked, immediately sensing something was wrong.

"The other dinobots…they didn't make it," Prowl answered. "Skyfire said he found Grimlock alone trying to fix them."

"He's very upset about it," Magnus said. "But he refuses to talk about it."

"He'll talk to me," Optimus replied, getting to his feet. "What about Ironhide and Jazz? I assume Skyfire and Wheeljack figured a way to bring me back. But something happened for me to lose my memories. Are Hide and Jazz ok?"

"They're still sparklings," Ratchet answered. "We thought it best to hold off after you…weren't all their in the CPU. Besides, Chromia is reluctant because she wants a sparkling and Hide doesn't."

Optimus' optics slightly widened. That didn't sound like the Ironhide he knew.

"I'll have a talk with him about that," Prime said. "First things first, I need to deal with Grimlock and see these sparklings for myself. Prowl, do Skyfire and Wheeljack have any idea how to correct what happened so what happened to me doesn't happen to the others?"

"They're still looking over the data but I'll get an assessment from them," the black and white mech responded and then left.

"Prowl is also reluctant," Ratchet spoke softly after the second in command left. "I think he wants a sparkling too."

Optimus nodded his head.

"Hopefully things will settle down once Hide and Jazz are back…and once Optimus and I have our own sparkling."

Optimus shot a surprised look at Elita. Pure elation was felt through their spark bond. She really wanted to have his sparkling!

"Sorry…about before," she whispered, as he pulled her close.

"Don't be," he murmured, pressing his forehead against hers. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Funny how it took you being a sparkling to open my optics."

"I remember…feeling the love you had for me. I always suspected you'd be an excellent mother. And I was right."

"I'm looking forward to…," she managed to say before his lips covered hers in a deep, passionate kiss, his happiness melting into her own.

"Fraggin younglings have no modesty anymore these days," Ratchet grumbled.

"It's just a kiss, Ratchet," Magnus said. "Not like they're going to drop and start fragging each other on the spot. Optimus and Elita would never do that…in public anyway."

"You aft heads sure know how to ruin a happy moment!" Optimus scowled turning to face them, holding Elita close. "My bonded has admitted she wants to have my sparkling! How else am I supposed to react? And I never frag my femme."

Elita giggled softly, leaning into her mate's strong form, his arm wrapped around her holding her close. Primus, it felt so good to be in his arms again and to feel his commanding presence was comforting.

"I like you better as a sparkling," Ratchet snorted, making them all laugh.

"Ok, enough embarrassing me for now. I have a base to get back to order. As I recall, everyone had been having too much fun with sparklings."

"Good, maybe my med bay will be peaceful again," Ratchet said, pushing them towards the door. "Now, if you don't mind. I'd like to start enjoying it."

The trio of friends left the med bay before Ratchet started throwing wrenches. Each of them have had the heavy tool flung their way more than once during their lifetime and know to avoid it whenever possible.

"So…Optimus, how much _**do**_ you remember?" Magnus slowly asked as they headed down the hall.

Optimus paused with a devilish smirk on his face. One Magnus hadn't seen in a long time.

"Don't worry my friend," Optimus started. "We call it even. I don't owe you a thing for lubricating and puking on you. And I won't speak a word about…" Optimus leaned closer and whispered. "…the washroom in your quarters."

Magnus swallowed hard, freezing in his tracks. Optimus laughed heartily. Elita nudged him for a reason through their spark link but he said he couldn't tell her. Not now anyway.

"Now, my first order is for you to release Bumblebee and the twins from the brig. Elita, stay away from them. They're good mechs and mean well. Prowl did order me to have fun. I sought them out. And in fact, the high grade seemed to loosen things up in my processor, help me get my memories back."

"Let's just not tell that to Sunny," she insisted.

"Agreed," he laughed. "Go on Magnus. Let them out. But make sure they do keep away from Elita for a while. I don't want any _**accidents**_."

"You're no fun sometimes," she said, narrowing her optics at him, giving him a playful push.

"Yes, Sir," the City Commander saluted and then marched off.

"You know, Elita, Magnus is going to make a good father some day. Even if he doesn't want to admit it. So, where are Ironhide and Jazz?"

"In the recreation room with Chromia and Grimlock."

"This I gotta see," he smiled.

* * *

Up next Optimus and the sparklings.


	38. Chapter 38

RL is slowly returning back to normal. Thankfully. It's been an exhausting two weeks. Somehow I managed to write this chapter. LOL. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Jazz was the first to spot Optimus when the big mech walked in, his sparkly blue optics never missed a thing. The tiny mech screeched a loud 'Oppy' then literally zipped across the floor. Hide followed at his own pace, as usual, content to sludge along, never in a rush to get anywhere unless it was feeding time.

"Oppy? I haven't been called that since Bee was a sparkling," Optimus chuckled, bending down and lifting up Jazz.

Elita remained back a little, watching her sparkmate handle the tiny sparkling. She was both surprised and comforted by how experienced he appeared handling such a small mechanism in his large hands. She made note that Optimus didn't look the least bit uncomfortable holding Jazz, like it was a very natural thing to do. She smiled, seeing this as a glimpse of what she had to look forward to with a sparkling of their own.

It was also quite clear that Optimus' charm even snared the tiniest of mechanisms. For Jazz was quite comfortable in Optimus' large hands and arms. The little mech twittered and warbled on and on excitedly as if he was telling Optimus about all he missed. Small arms and hands moving about in concert with beeps, warbles and clicks.

"He's so tiny," Optimus grinned when Jazz stopped his sparkling talk. "Reminds me of Bumblebee when he was a sparkling. I was always so scared that I'd step on him when he was crawling around. We actually thought he was going to be a minibot because he was so small."

"What happened?" Elita asked.

"He had a growth spurt," he answered. "By the time you joined the base he had caught up with Sunny and Sides in size."

"So, you're finally all back?" Chromia smirked. "Too bad. You were cute Optimus."

"So I've heard," he said, rolling his optics. "Just so you know, I'm still Prime and I expect everyone to follow my orders."

"Of course you are," Elita chimed in, moving to his side. "It was just an…optic open experience for all of us. Only that rumor about you being spawned from Primus as a fully mature mech wrecker has been totally demolished."

Jazz warbled quizzically at Optimus.

"It's better that I don't answer that, Jazz," Prime responded in a gentle tone making the little mech laugh loudly.

"You…you didn't actually understand him did you?" Elita asked.

"When they're so young they don't know most of what you're saying," he answered. "But its how you say things that they respond to. Jazz was always good at having a conversation about nothing with a sparkling."

(_beep?_)

"Yes, you were," Optimus cooed, poking Jazz in the belly with one finger making him shriek and giggle hysterically.

Meanwhile, Ironhide had made it to Optimus but was tired of sitting on the floor and being ignored. So, he rammed his head as hard as he could against the towering mech's foot. Than sat on his aft with a heavy grunt.

"Another thing…" Optimus started, handing Jazz over to Elita and then bending down to pick up Ironhide. "They don't like to be ignored and will do _**anything**_ to get your attention. Sunny used to bite Ironhide when he wanted attention…which was all the time it seemed."

"Bet that went over well," Chormia snorted sarcastically.

Optimus sighed internally as he noticed a brief flicker of sadness on her face. He knew Ironhide very well, probably better than most. Well, except for Ratchet. But on those days when Optimus had to help a drunken Ironhide back to his quarters during the dead of night so no one else saw, the weapon specialist often spoke his spark. Optimus knew what Ironhide wanted out of life and was frankly surprised that Chromia hadn't had a couple of sparklings by now. It was very obvious she wanted them as much as Ironhide.

With a knowing look from Optimus, Elita smiled and took Jazz with her to the other side of the room. She understood that her mech had a job to do. Being a leader didn't just mean going out and kicking Decepticon aft all the time. For Optimus, it also meant being there for his fellow Autobots in any way they needed him.

Although the femme commander was getting anxious. Now that he was back she really wanted to get working on a sparkling. And she wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to wait!

Chromia sat there with a heavy spark as her Prime sat down next to her, her sparkmate sitting contently in the big mech's lap. She felt foolish for clinging onto the belief of wanting a sparkling. But it still didn't change how she felt deep within her spark.

"What happens when you and Ironhide talk about having sparklings? Or have you talked about it?" Optimus asked.

"I've tried subtle hints over the years but they never worked. I was too afraid to ask him. We were always at war with the Decepticons and he never brought up the subject. We never actually discussed it until this whole incident with you getting turned into a sparkling. But even then it was me talking and him looking for a way to end the discussion. Then I'd get mad and we'd fight."

"I can tell you right now that Ironhide does want a sparkling," Optimus said softly, making her optics well up with tears. "He noticed all those subtle hints. Told me about them often."

"Then why?" she asked, tears streaming down her face.

"To be honest, I think he's afraid he wouldn't be a good enough father."

"That's absurd! He'd be a great father!"

"I know that, you know that," Optimus continued. "But when it comes to anything involving you Chromia, things have to be perfect. Ironhide wouldn't settle for anything less than perfection for the one he loves more than life itself. Primus, it took the mech several years before he finally asked you to bond with him because he kept waiting for that perfect moment! I finally ordered him to do it!"

"So that recon mission you sent us on…?"

"Was all a set up," Optimus smiled. "I figured it was the only way to get you two alone with no distractions. And no excuses for Ironhide. Plus, I told him he'd better not report back unless he asked. Ratchet even threatened to take Hide's weapons systems offline too."

Chromia laughed, staring at her sparkmate chewing on his fingers. He flashed a smile at her. Only he could look adorable with his fingers in his mouth doing that.

"So, as soon as Wheeljack and Skyfire figure out what happened to me I want Ironhide returned back to his mature self. Our numbers are too few to be short even one mech or femme on this base." He paused, glancing over at Elita. "And with the prospect of sparklings we need everyone we can get to defend this base and the little ones."

"I understand," she smiled. "Can I have…one day?"

Optimus nodded with a smiled.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Good now…"

(_fart!_)

"Oh Primus, I don't miss those!" Prime exclaimed quickly but gently dropping Hide on Chromia's lap. "I pray your sparkling's exhaust fumes aren't as…" Optimus coughed. "…potent."

Ironhide giggled and clapped. He thought it was funny that he could make the big mech run away. Even Mia laughed with him, holding him close.

"Yeah, you always found that funny, Hide," Optimus commented, from a safe distance.

"Optimus…"

"One moment," he smiled at Elita, taking Jazz back into his arms. "So, Grimlock. How do you like sparkling sitting?"

"Me Grimlock no sparkling sit. Me Grimlock love to play with sparklings."

"Is that true Jazz?"

The little silver mech nodded enthusiastically and spewed off a series of beeps and clicks. Optimus responded and Grimlock watched anxiously. The dinobot didn't understand sparkling talk but it seemed Optimus did. He wondered what the tiny Autobot was saying about him.

"Then it's settled," Optimus smiled at Grimlock. "Grimlock will be our official sparkling playmate. Would you like the job?"

Grimlock quickly nodded his big head up and down.

"I'm sorry about the other dinobots," Optimus spoke softly. "We'll have a special ceremony of remembrance for them. Ok?"

Grimlock bowed his head down.

"I know you think you're not strong enough," Optimus sighed, laying a reassuring hand on Grimlock's shoulder. "But you're wrong. You're one of the strongest, bravest mech's I know. And I know you did your best to save the others. In the end, that's what you _**must**_ believe. Loss is a part of war, a part of being a leader…a part of life. As leaders we may not like it. But we must accept it and carry on. Life will always carry on one way or another. Understand?"

"Life will carry on…in sparklings?"

"Yes, it will. Elita and I will have a sparkling soon. The little mech or femme is going to need a playmate who can protect him or her too."

"Me Grimlock will protect Optimus and Elita's sparkling. Me Grimlock promise to never let anything happen to puny Autobot."

Optimus laughed, "That's good. Elita and I have every confidence in you my friend."

Grimlock raised his head proudly, feeling so much better now that Optimus was back.

"Now, let's see how…oh good," Optimus said. "I was just on my way to see you, Prowl."

Jazz flashed Prowl a smile as the black and white mech approached. Prowl couldn't help but smile back, feeling Jazz reach out to him expressing his love. But then quickly remembered Optimus was there and the smile was gone.

Of course, Optimus noticed it all but had the courtesy to not say anything. It was nice to see that kind of smile on Prowl's face though. It'd been a long time coming to the mech to be that happy.

"Jack and Skyfire feel they've corrected the problem," Prowl explained. "They'll download Jazz's memories at a much slower rate than they did yours."

"Jazz's?" Optimus questioned, raising an optic ridge.

"Yes, Sir. I told them to try it on Jazz before Ironhide. Hide is the more experienced of the two and therefore more valuable."

"That's bull slag. Every one of you are highly valuable to me." Optimus paused, moving closer so he could speak more privately with Prowl. "I understand how you feel, Prowl. This incident has changed us all. Even _**you**_."

Prowl was not surprised at how perceptive Optimus was. It'd served the Autobot leader well. So there was no point in hiding what he felt.

"You're right Optimus. But I can't cling on to what I can never have. This must be done _**now**_. It'll only be much harder later."

"Very well, that is your choice," Optimus frowned handing Jazz over to Prowl. Prime looked over at Elita, hand extended. "We'll go together. I want to make sure everything turns out well."

Elita nodded, the warmth of her sparkmate's hand enveloping hers as the love he had for her spread within her spark. Together they followed Prowl and Jazz. The tiny sparkling was quiet and calm as if sensing something important was going to happen.

A smile spread across Optimus' face. He couldn't wait to hold a sparkling he and Elita produced. Hopefully, Ironhide and Chromia will be able to experience this joy that Optimus and Elita were looking forward too. Regardless, the base was going to have a new recruit and Optimus was going to make sure everyone would have the opportunity to sparkling sit.

"Just set him on the table," Wheeljack instructed after they all entered the lab.

Prowl nodded, moving towards the table. As much as it pained his spark, he set Jazz on the table. The little silver mech sensed something was wrong and immediately started crying.

"I was afraid of that," Ratchet said, rushing into the room. "I suggested you wait a short while first, Prowl, so I can give Jazz a mild sedative that will keep him out a few minutes."

"Sorry…I just want this over and done with," he said, lifting up Jazz, trying to console him.

Ratchet gave Prowl a sad smile. He understood what was bothering Prowl. The CMO had seen that look on a mech or femme's face many times when he was just a specialist doc bot, long before the war.

"Everything will work out," he said to the black and white mech while administering the mild sedative.

Prowl nodded and watched as Jazz drifted into recharge. Once he was situated on the table again, Ratchet and Prowl moved to stand with the others. Together they watched and waited.

Skyfire and Wheeljack did appear to have fixed the problem. No power surges. The entire process seemed to go by without any hitches. But the status of Jazz's CPU would be revealed once he awakened.

"His CPU has rebooted," Ratchet announced, much more calm this time around. After going over all the data with Skyfire and Wheeljack, he agreed they had downloaded Optimus' memories too fast and his CPU couldn't handle the intake. "And he's coming out of recharge as I had planned."

Since this was Prowl's sparkmate, it was his duty to be the first one that Jazz's optics would see. And he would be the first to know if Jazz was…himself.

"Oh…my aching processor," Jazz moaned, grabbing his head. Then he suddenly bolted up in a panic when he suddenly remembered. "Wheeljack!"

"Is ok," Prowl responded calmly, resting his hands on Jazz's shoulders to restrain him. "He's over there, see?" Jazz glanced over and indeed saw the white mech standing there grinning like the techno geek he was. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"An explosion. I had to get Jack to safety," the silver mech answered, his optics focusing more inwardly at the moment as the thought about his answer. He abruptly laughed. "Oh Primus does have a sense of humor! I can't believe I got turned into a sparkling!"

"You remember everything?" Ratchet asked.

"Oh yeah," Jazz smirked knowingly at Prowl. "Knew you would make a good father if given the chance."

"Nah, you were just a good sparkling," Prowl countered.

"Don't be so modest."

"Sound like Jazz is fine to me," Optimus stated. "Just…don't call me Oppy anymore, ok Jazz?"

"Got it boss bot."

"With that said, it's time we were going," Elita said, yanking Optimus hard towards the door. "Prowl, I assume you and Magnus can keep an optic on things for a while…again?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Prowl smiled as Optimus and Elita disappeared out the door.

"Oh boy, Jack, Skyfire…we've got work to do," Ratchet muttered.

"I was going to go through my destroyed lab…"

"Later, Jack. We've got sparkling protoforms to build."

"How many?" Skyfire asked.

"With those two over eager fraggers who knows!" Ratchet said, making them all laugh.

"Things will be different this time," Prowl smiled, looking at Jazz.

"That they will my good friend," Jazz agreed, patting Prowl on the shoulder. "That they will."

* * *

Up next: The final chapter. Sorry, no tears please! You'll get to meet Optimus and Elita's little sparkling. So there will be more sparkling cuteness. And you'll find out if Ironhide gave Chromia what she wanted.

One more thing there will be a poll up, after I post the **next** chapter, on whether to continue with a sequel or not. Please, don't give your opinions yet. Not until after you read the final chapter. Which should be coming soon, it's mostly written.


	39. Chapter 39

**a/n:** I'd like to just start off with thanks to all those reading and for the reviews. This has been a fun story to write and I was surprised by such a response from all of you. Again, I humbly thank each one of you.

I'm sure a few of you have seen the movie Gladiator. I always loved his name Maximus Decimus Meridius. And I've been waiting for a story where I could use the name Max. Yes, that means Optimus and Elita have a little mech.

So here it is. The final chapter of sparkling cuteness…or is it?

* * *

_**Several months later…**_

There was probably no prouder father in the multitude of universes as Optimus Prime. He sat at his desk. Not working. Not thinking about his Autobots or the Decepticons or the humans. His optics and attention was solely focused on his son, Maximus, or as Elita calls him - Max, who was sitting on the desk before his father suckling on his energon bottle.

The sparkling was only a few Earth months old now. He was coordinated enough to sit up on his own, crawl around like lightning, climb his father's towering height with ease, and had a limited vocabulary that he could speak including a few _**choice**_ words he'd picked up around the base. Needless to say, Elita was not happy when Ironhide's dirty mouth let loose a few words that Max seemed to enjoy saying often.

"Slag," the sparkling sighed, shaking the empty bottle.

Optimus refrained from laughing or smiling. He agreed with Elita that it was best to not encourage their son to say such things. At least until he was older. Max was a very smart little bot though. He was learning to not to say them in front of Elita. Optimus was always a bit more lenient and never punished the little mech.

"All done?"

(_**burb!**_)

"Guess that means yes," Optimus chuckled.

Max simply smiled and held up the empty bottle for Optimus to take. Despite the sound effects, he was a well mannered sparkling, hardly cried unless there was a good reason and curious about anything and everything. He was a sparkling one never wanted to their back on because he was always into something.

At this moment, it was the datapad with Prowl's report that Optimus was supposed to be reading. Max held it in his tiny hands turning it around and over, intently examining it. Optimus erupted with a hearty laugh when his son made a scrunched up face and dropped the datapad aside like a used up, unwanted toy.

"I don't care for them much either," he smiled, laying his arms on the desk and resting his chin on his crossed forearms. "They never seem to disappear off my desk."

Max giggled. His bright blue optics sparkled with mischief as he crawled across the desk to his father. Optimus could literally feel his spark swell with pride and happiness. His own optics glimmered with absolute love for the son Elita and he created together.

It was moments like this that made the leader still feel in awe about this little life form before him. He sometimes couldn't believe that he and Elita produced a sparkling. They created life. A son. An offspring whose personality already strongly resembled both his parents.

Stubborn. Strong. Intelligent. Generous. Loving.

Yes, Maximus was definitely the son of Optimus Prime and Elita One.

"What are you doing, you little lugnut?" Optimus asked when Max sat right before his face.

Max's small optics focused intensely on his father's face. His tiny hands explored the edges of the armor on his father's chin. He even used Optimus' chin to pull himself up onto his feet. Little legs wobbled as he smiled nervously. It was only a few days ago that Max started trying to stand. And like all those other occasions his knees buckled and he fell onto his pint sized aft.

"Oops," Max huffed.

"Try not to be in such a hurry, my son. You'll be on your feet soon enough."

On impulse, Optimus tickled his son's belly with a finger making the sparkling roll onto his back, squealing and giggling. Little arms hugged his father's hand as little legs kicked about excitedly. A huge grin on the sparkling's face was topped off with blazing small blue orbs that shined with so much happiness and love.

"Ok, that's enough," Optimus laughed, helping his son to sit back up. "Don't want you to have an…"

Max hiccupped and spit up some partially digested energon. The tears and wails were instantaneous as the warm sticky substance trickled down his chin.

"Oops, it's ok, Max," Optimus replied calmly, grabbing the small towel he had for such occasions. He gently wiped the energon spew from Max's chin, cooing to the sparkling. "That was my fault for getting you too excited right after you ate. See, you're all cleaned up now."

Seeing that Max was still upset, sitting there with his bottom lip stuck out, Optimus picked up his son, holding him close to his chest and patted his small back. Soft humming emanated from the big mech's vocal processor, a favorite lullaby Bumblebee liked when he was a sparkling and one Max seemed to like as well. One Optimus found always calmed down an upset sparkling.

"Better?"

Max nodded his head, rubbing his optics with small fists. His mouth opened wide, a soft yawn sounding. Optimus started humming again, knowing his sparkling was heading into his usual after meal recharge. The soft melody continued until small optics covers closed over dimmed optics.

"You can put me to recharge like that any time."

"Of course, anything for you," he smiled warmly as Elita approached him quietly. "How long were you standing there watching?"

"Long enough," she smirked at him.

"Thank you for our son," he sighed, staring affectionately at her.

"You should thank Wheeljack for being his blundering self. None of this would have happened if he hadn't turned you into a sparkling."

"True. But he didn't spark our son. You did that."

"No, we did that _**together**_. It wouldn't have been any fun without you."

Optimus laughed loudly then quickly quieted down when Max wiggled slightly in his arms. The little mech grew calm and stayed in recharge, head back, mouth open slightly. Both parents content to watch him recharge, much like they do for a few minutes every night before they recharge themselves.

"Optimus!Optimus!Optimus!" Blurr shouted excitedly from the doorway as he blasted into the office. The commotion woke Max instantly who started crying loudly.

"Blurr! You stupid aft!" Optimus growled.

"Language!" Elita chided her mate, taking her squalling son in her arms.

"Sorry, Lita."

"SorryOptimusbutyouhavetohurry! Icantbelievetheyfinallydidit! Ratchetsaystohurryyourafttothemedbaybeforeitstoolate!"

"Optimus!" Magnus called, suddenly appearing behind Blurr. "The fraggers finally did it! Ratchet's about to bring the little femme online."

"Language!" Elita snapped at Magnus.

"Sorry, Ma'am."

"Go, Max and I will catch up," Elita smiled up at Optimus, rocking Max.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his hand caressing his son's head.

"I'm sure. Besides, he needs to be put down for his nap."

Optimus nodded then kissed Max on top of his head and then kissed Elita on the cheek before following Magnus.

"Did they finally come up with a name for her?" Optimus asked as he and Magnus raced down the hall, Blurr had already taken off and was far ahead of them.

"They're not telling like its top secret," Magnus chuckled. "Unlike someone who was going around the base bragging about his pregnant sparkmate carrying his son."

"Just wait until you have a sparkling of your own," Optimus countered, glaring playfully at his friend. "You're so happy there's no way to contain it."

"Wait up!"

The two mechs stopped.

"Hide, move _**your**_ slow aft!" Optimus ordered.

"I'm moving it lugnut!" Ironhide huffed, moving his heavy aft as fast as he could. "I'm not going to miss the blessed event! Never in a hundred million years."

"**I'M GOING TO MAKE ALL YOUR MAINTENANCE CHECK UPS AS UNCOMFORTABLE AS POSSIBLE IF YOU DON'T GET THE FRAG OUT OF MY MED BAY!**" Ratchet's irate voice boomed down the hallway.

Up ahead of the three mech wreckers, four young mechs – Bee, Sunny, Sides, and Blurr – came flying out of the med bay. The commotion was followed by half a dozen wrenches and various tools that flew out the door and slammed into the opposing wall.

"You go in first," Ironhide said, pushing Optimus forward. The big mech shot his weapon's officer a look. "I'm not joking! Chromia would kill me if I got hurt right now. You know Ratchet's aim can be deadly when he's that mad."

Optimus rolled his optics while inside he was smiling. The overall feeling around the base changed once Elita got pregnant with Maximus. Everyone was smiling and jovial. Prowl didn't punish Sunny that much for the pranks he's pulled lately. Even Ratchet smiled and was in less of a wrench throwing mood until just now.

"Safe to come in?" Optimus asked standing in the doorway, Magnus and Ironhide peering from behind him.

"Sure, just scaring away young mechs who are a little too excited about a new femme on the base," Ratchet remarked, waving them to come in. "I have no doubt that once the initial shock wears off her parents will put them in their place."

Optimus would have to agree with Ratchet on that one as he looked sympathetically at the extremely worried parents to be. Prowl, normally calm, collected, and a stern second in command appeared unraveled and almost terrified. Jazz, head of operations, normally a very chatty, enthusiastic mech appeared extremely nervous and was very quiet.

While Optimus was still in the dark about how Ratchet managed to help Prowl and Jazz produce a viable, healthy spark, the Autobot Commander was thrilled for his officers. Thrilled that they'd get the chance to experience what he and Elita have had the chance to experience. Thrilled because with new life brings new hope for their species for it is still unknown how many Autobots survived amongst the stars.

"You both need to relax," Prime smiled at them. "Ratchet knows what his doing. He has delivered two healthy sparklings of late."

"Speaking of sparklings, where's mini Max?" Ironhide asked, smirking up at his Prime.

Ratchet snorted, "More like mad Max if he doesn't get his bottle in time when he's hungry."

Optimus just grinned at them both. He didn't mind the playful nicknames they gave his son. It just showed how much affection his friends had for the little sparkling.

"Least he's not half as loud as Boomer when he screams for a feeding," Magnus added. "My audio receptors are still buzzing from this morning."

"If you have something to say about my son say it to my face!" Ironhide growled, standing toe to toe with the City Commander.

"I thought I just did," Magnus grinned, not feeling the least bit threatened by Ironhide. After all, he was taller and stronger than Prime's weapon specialist.

"Shut up or get out the both of you," Ratchet threatened, hoisting up a wrench and smacking Ironhide on the head with it.

"Ow! Why did you hit me and not him?" Hide questioned, wisely backing away as he rubbed his head.

"Because your head was easier to reach," Ratchet remarked, setting the tool down. "Now, let's get the little femme online, shall we."

Ratchet motioned for Prowl and Jazz to move over to the med table he had in the center of the med bay. There he gently pulled away the small blanket to reveal the tiny soft grey and feminine looking protoform that was to be their sparkling once the tiny spark was transferred.

"I trust the body is satisfactory?" Ratchet asked them.

Both mechs just nodded their heads, making the medic chuckle softly to himself. He understood their reluctance to show their happiness until their little femme came online. This was the first successful try after half a dozen failed attempts to produce a spark strong enough to sustain its own energy without too much medical assistance.

"Did we miss it?" Chromia asked, hurrying in to the med bay sparkling in her arms.

"No," Ironhide smiled.

"Hide! Kaboom!" the sparkling cheer throwing his arms up in the air.

"Later, my son," he cooed, taking his sparkling into his arms.

"At least Boomer was aptly named," Magnus snorted.

Boomer ripped a loud raspberry at him, making Ironhide grin proudly. The City Commander looked slightly hurt by the gesture.

"Don't worry Magnus, Maximus loves you as an uncle," Optimus chuckled, patting his friend on the back.

"Are you…"

"Sorry, we're late," Elita came in interrupting Ratchet.

"Oppy," Max grinned, hands grabbing for his father as he leaned away from his mother.

"He refused to go back into recharge," she said, handing over Max.

"Are we ready now?" Ratchet asked looking every bit annoyed as he sounded.

"Of course," Optimus smiled, cradling Max in one are while his other held Elita close.

"Good," the CMO said then turned to Prowl and Jazz. The pair stood a rigid as ever side by side. He smiled kindly at them. "Everything will be fine."

With that said, Ratchet went to the far side of the room. Everyone watched curiously as he unhooked a cable from a small device then carefully lifted it up and brought it over.

"Are you ever going to tell us how you managed this?" Optimus asked.

"A spark is pure energy formed from the energy of two bonded sparks," he smirked gently setting the device down near the protoform. "All it needs is an energy enriched containment field for it to be nurtured within until it's strong enough to be transferred to its body."

"Everyone knows that," Ironhide harrumphed. "Reproduction 101. We learn it when we're younglings."

"And that's all you need to know. How this particular spark came to be is between Prowl, Jazz and myself. Now quiet. Prowl, Jazz, come closer, please."

Ratchet was used to the audience for this. Everyone was in the med bay when Maximus came online. The same for Boomer when he came online a few days after Max. Optimus felt it important for those few on the base to witness these miracles. It boosted moral and made them all understand just how precious life was and that they needed to enjoy every astrosecond of it.

The device slowly opened to reveal the tiniest spark anyone had ever seen. A soft pale blue hue emanated as it pulsed steadily. Its glow was so much brighter then a mech's dark blue spark. Yet, both were equally impressive, equally vibrant with life if one was lucky to have a sparkmate or able to see the birth of a sparkling.

"Would either of you like to place her into her body?" Ratchet asked softly.

Still speechless, both parents shook their heads no. Jazz couldn't bear this much longer and was afraid he'd drop the tiny spark. For comfort and reassurance he grabbed Prowl's hand and started squeezing the life out of it. The black and white mech was so focused on the tiny spark that he didn't even notice he was squeezing Jazz's hand right back in response. Both their sparks were racing in anticipation as Ratchet gently lifted the tiny spark from the safety of the makeshift womb he'd build.

The pair had endured so much sparkache the past month or so that they were afraid to speak, smile, or even show any signs of happiness today so far. They didn't want to do anything to jeopardize the survival of their little femme. Their optics and hope watched expectantly as the tiny spark was placed within its spark chamber.

Ratchet leaned over the sparkling, medical sensors thoroughly scanning her form, anxiously waiting for signs of activation all the while meticulously monitoring any energy fluctuations in her spark. This was her finally hurdle, the hardest step for a newborn spark and he prayed her spark was strong enough to give the protoform life.

And just when it seemed to be taking too long the tiny spark flared brightly. The spark chamber automatically closed up as her systems all booted up one by one, limbs and fingers slightly twitched with life. The CMO grinned proudly, moving back and allowing Prowl and Jazz to move as close as they could.

It'd be important that their faces be the first the little femme would see. She, like all sparklings, could sense her creators through their spark bond. And it would be very comforting and reassuring for her to see them first as she came online.

Prowl was the first to reach for her. His hand trembled slightly as he put a finger beneath her tiny hand. Her hand felt so warm. Then he let out a short laugh when her fingers instinctively curled around it. Not to be left out, after all this was his sparkling too, Jazz did the same thing to her other hand.

"Wow, she's got a grip!" he grinned from audio receptor to audio receptor, pure joy filling his spark. This was the happiest day of his life! He finally has a sparkling of his own. Primus, he was a daddy!

A soft sequence of clicks sounded then suddenly optic covers snapped open to reveal the brightest blue orbs either mech had ever seen. They both gasped and grew still as stone, staring down at this beautiful life they'd created. The femme's optics stared intently at the black and white mech then looked at the silver mech.

"She's studying us," Prowl whispered, not taking his optics off the femme. That dull ache in his spark was totally extinguished now as he stared down at his daughter. _**His**_ daughter. Prowl couldn't believe it! He was a father!

The femme shrieked loudly and kicked her little legs excitedly. Bubbly giggles filled the room. She released her grip and reached up to them. She could feel how much love they both had for her.

"Ratchet?"

"Go ahead, you can pick her up," the CMO chuckled at Prowl.

"You first, Jazz," he said, moving slightly away. "I know how much you've wanted this."

"But it was your idea to ask if Ratchet could help us. It should be you that gets to hold her first."

"Well, one of you'd better do it and do it quick," Ratchet said, pointing down at the confused little femme.

She didn't understand why they weren't picking her up. She just wanted to be held and comforted. Huge tears filled her optics.

"Oh hey, don't cry," Prowl cooed, carefully lifting her up and cradling her close to his chest. The warmth of his spark so close to hers quieted her down.

"Yeah, don't cry little babe," Jazz spoke softly, wiping her tears away. "We'll hold you anytime you want, promise."

The little femme smiled, lavishing in the attention she was getting from her creators.

"She's purring!" Prowl giggled.

Jazz refrained from laughing at his sparkmate. It wasn't often that Prowl let his guard down like this. Usually only in their quarters away from prying optics did he show the depth of his emotions. But Jazz had a feeling their daughter was going to change that…a bit.

"So, does the little femme have a name?" Optimus asked after remaining quiet with the others. They'd given the new parents some space. Now it was time to get a better look at the new femme Autobot.

"Prowl came up with a good one," Jazz smiled proudly, shoulders and head held high.

Prowl turned to face the others, clutching his daughter closer. Her optics focused solely on him for the moment. He looked down at her, his optics shining with a happiness the others had never seen from the normally reserved mech. But it was a happiness they all fully understood and shared.

"Her name is Violet," he replied softly.

There was a long moment of silence as everyone processed the information.

"Such a lovely name for a lovely little femme," Optimus commented.

Just then, both Max and Boomer spotted her. Neither knew what was going on but when they saw her they clicked excitedly. Max even reached for her. He recognized another sparkling, a possible playmate. Boomer nearly leapt from Ironhide's grasp, always been one for being a bit gung-ho about everything he did. And he has actually hit the floor a few times because his unprepared parents didn't keep a tight hold on him.

"I guess we should introduce her," Jazz chuckled, reaching for Boomer and taking him into his arms. "Do you want to meet her?" Boomer nodded his head. Again, Jazz laughed. He had a feeling he was going to be doing a lot of that. "Boomer this is Violet. Violet, this is Boomer."

Violet gave Boomer a long stare then beeped kindly at him.

(_raspberry!_)

Tiny optic covers blinked rapidly. What was that? Uncertain, Violet curled up and snuggled as close as she could to Prowl's chest, warbling timidly.

"Typical of Ironhide's son," Prowl remarked, rolling his optics. Then in a stern, serious tone said, "I do hope he will not be spouting profanity around Violet. Same goes for you too Ironhide."

"I'll do my best to teach them both to behave," Chromia smiled, a bit embarrassed as she took Boomer into her arms. She quietly chided her son on his rude behavior and gave her sparkmate a long, hard look. Ironhide shrugged his shoulders giving her an apologetic look.

"I'll help if you need it," Jazz offered, arms folder across his chest. He agreed with Prowl. No foul language near their baby girl.

"It's ok Violet," Prowl said reassuringly. "Not all mechs are rude."

"Mech, me," Max grinned proudly. Yeah, that's right. Thanks to Elita's teachings Max knew the difference between mechs and femmes.

"That's right," Optimus praised. "You're a mech and Violet's a femme."

"Like Lita?"

"Yes, like me," Elita smiled, caressing her son's head.

"Can you say hello to Violet?" Optimus asked, moving Max as close as possible while still giving the tiny femme some space.

Violet still wasn't sure about all that was going on around her had turned her face into Prowl's chase, clinging to his armor. Max, wanting to see her face so he could greet her properly laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and beeped softly. He removed his hand when the femme slowly turned her head to look at him.

"Hi," the little mech smiled, waving at her.

At least this one didn't make strange noises. So Violet relaxed. What was he doing though? She looked at her hand and then tried to mimic what Max was doing. Only hers wasn't as coordinated as Max's yet. Still, sparks melted and awes sounded at her attempt to reply.

And Max, being the well mannered little mech he was, did what he'd seen his father do many times when he greeted Lita. He leaned over and kissed Violet on the cheek. And then leaned back rather proud of himself for being so nice.

"Aw, that was so cute," Elita cooed.

"Yes, _**cute**_," Ironhide snorted. "Max definitely takes after Optimus."

"Just what are your son's intentions towards my daughter?!" Prowl demanded.

"Oh good Primus!" Optimus exclaimed, pulling Max close to his chest.

"Prowl, I'm sure it's nothing," Elita replied as Optimus bolted for the door. "Optimus, where are you going?"

"I'm just getting Max to safety before Prowl throws him in the brig."

"Prowl, you wouldn't do that…would you?" Jazz asked.

Prowl just smirked at him.

"Who'd have thought Prowl had a sense of humor," Elita smiled. "Congratulations, the both of you. She's very beautiful."

"Thank you Elita," Prowl said. "And yes, she is."

"She's definitely a looker," Ironhide added and immediately put up his hands in defense. "I meant nothing. My son will keep his lips to himself, I promise."

Just to be safe, Hide decided to leave, pulling Chromia with him. The femme laughed, congratulating Prowl and Jazz.

"Come on Boomer, let's go to the shooting range," Chromia cooed. "Hide can hold you while you get to watch a _**real**_ expert blow stuff up."

Boomer cheered excitedly and clapped as his parents headed out of the med bay. Elita followed, chasing down her sparkmate and sparkling. It didn't take long to find them. Optimus was walking very slowly.

"So, do you think we should warn them?" she asked, reaching his side.

"Nah, best to let Prowl and Jazz learn a few things on their own," he smiled, cradling the now recharging sparkling. "It's the only way to truly enjoy parenthood."

"Are you, enjoying it?" she expectantly questioned.

"Every astrosecond of it, my love. Every astrosecond of it."

* * *

So, what did you think? I hope you liked the final chapter. Yes, it is the final chapter of _**THIS**_ story. Now, if you want it to continue there is a poll. A simple yes or no will suffice. However, and this is the reason for the poll, I will be deviating from my normal Optimus centered story and focus on Prowl and Jazz as they cope with the adventures of parenthood as they raise their little Violet. In fact that will be the title - Adventures in Parenthood. But only _**IF**_ there is enough interest to continue this story with a sequel. And yes, there will be more sparkling cuteness and humor. So, go vote! Vote now!

Again I thank everyone for reading and the reviews.


	40. Chapter 40

The sequel is up! Chapter one of Adventures in Parenthood has been posted!


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